Lost Fantasies
by Carys Langley
Summary: AU TezuFuji, Tezuka is a wealthy, successful...virgin. His 'good friend' Atobe decides to remedy that by introducing him to the beautiful, alluring Fuji. 'I run because I want you to catch me, Tezuka-sama. Don't worry, I'll run slow.'
1. Chapter I

_**GENERAL DISCLAIMER:**_ Just to make everything clear, I don't own Prince of Tennis/Tennis no Oujisama, never will, unfortunately.

_**A/N:**_ I never realized how hard it is to post something until I actually try to post something...but I figured if I don't post something now, I'll never post anything, so I'm going to be brave xD. First story, hope everyone enjoys.

_**BETA NOTE:**_ For some strange reason, it freaks me out sending a random PM to a random someone asking them to beta for me, but I'd honestly love a beta, My English is far from perfect. So if anyone would like to, please let me know and I'll PM you! Thanks so much!

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**I**

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Tezuka Kunimitsu knew that luck would never be so kind to one man, thus, he reached the natural conclusion that Atobe Keigo was not an honest man, the shadows gave him many strings to pull; and somehow, he had the feeling that his fellow executive had pulled more than his fair share.

As for Tezuka himself, he had not clawed his way up by luck, he had sacrificed many things, to many people, too many things, for that fully Italian-furnished office with his own personal secretary, who, despite the popular rumors that inevitably buzzed around, he had never touched.

Atobe had an identical office just down the hall, and he had sacrificed little, if nothing at all. But then, it was useless to grudge him for any of it, as his parents did own the company still, it was no surprise that Atobe would hold such a high position at so young an age.

And Tezuka knew that Atobe was not without his merits, he had his flashes of brilliance too, Tezuka respected him for that.

However, Tezuka did not like where this particular flash of brilliance brought them, at all. Atobe's week-old car was nudged snugly in an graffiti-stained alley, a place that the vehicle, much less its owner had no business in being.

"Well? This was what you had to show me?" Tezuka was not at all amused, "This is an alley. You made me leave work early for an alley?"

Atobe unbuckled his seatbelt, and turned to face Tezuka, a smirk etched on his lips, "Yes, you'll thank me for it later, besides, if I didn't make you leave early, you wouldn't have gone home."

"I'm still not amused."

"I'm not trying to amuse you, and you're never amused." Atobe gave him a look, and opened the door, "Come on now, get out of the car."

Tezuka obeyed; realizing that the velvet, perfumed interior of Atobe's car was actually quite comfortable, much more so than standing out here in some alley in a suit and tie. He felt like a duck waiting to be shot. "We have no business being in an alley."

Atobe raised an eyebrow, and then laughed, "We're not going to _stay_ in this alley."

"Where are we going, then?"

"You're making this very hard for ore-sama, don't you know?" For the first time, Atobe's voice had a subtle edge of irritation to it, "I figured what you told me the other day was a faint cry for help, I'm just trying to help you."

Tezuka narrowed his eyes and touched a hand to his glasses, "What cry for help?"

Atobe rolled his eyes, "You're exasperating. You know, what you told me when you were tipsy the other day. You're a virgin. Honestly, I was about to lose hope for you, but since you told me that, I thought I'd try again."

An expression of pure shock flitted across Tezuka's face, but only for a half second, and his face was blank again, although he honestly didn't remember divulging such a private part of himself to Atobe, it was obvious that his friend had been getting accurate information from somewhere.

"I never told you that."

"You were tipsy." Atobe smirked affectionately at him, as only Atobe could, "I dragged it out of you. I also dragged other very interesting information out of you."

Tezuka began to feel a little uneasy. "...Like?"

"You're not happy with your life, you think it's lame that you have no social life whatsoever and you want to get laid." Atobe thought for a minute, "You also came onto me, and I almost didn't resist you. I'm kind of regretting the fact that I resisted."

"I did not come onto you, Atobe." Tezuka told him, "I was tipsy, not drunk. But supposing that I believe all that for a minute. This still doesn't explain the fact that you made me leave work early to come to an alleyway."

"Like I said, we're not staying in this alleyway." Atobe sounded genuinely annoyed and pocketed his keys, "Ore-sama never thought he'd have to tell you this, but shut up for a minute." he was never going to be charitable to Tezuka again, ever.

Out of the goodness of his heart, Tezuka realized that he was just about to ask Atobe if his still uninsured car that cost more than probably what most people would see in their lifetime, would be all right in this alleyway, but since Atobe told him to shut up, he was going to shut up.

It was with much apprehension that he followed Atobe down the snaking alleyway, Tezuka had the feeling that Atobe was a regular visitor to this alley; vaguely, he wondered if his parents knew.

At last, they reached the end of the alleyway, and Tezuka watched as Atobe sauntered up to a very unassuming door in the corner. He rapped on it, a peculiar rhythm that Tezuka did not recognize from anywhere. After listening for a moment, Atobe opened the door and went in, beckoning to him with a careless gesture.

"Come on, Tezuka."

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They stood in a reception room that could have easily been the office; and yet, he knew with dire certainty it was not. The lady behind the counter looked to be fifty something, but Tezuka thought she was probably quite something in her prime. He lingered behind while Atobe approached the counter, greeting the woman like they were old friends, "Ryuzaki-san, it's been a while. I was hoping to have Ryoma for the night."

"It has been a long time, Atobe-sama. I'm sure Ryoma-kun will be glad to see you, he asks about you."

"Of course he does." Atobe smirked.

She shook her head, "You're always so full of yourself, Atobe-sama. But you're lucky, Ryoma-kun is free for the night." She held out a wrinkled hand adorned by many rings, "Payment up front."

"The way you say that hurts my feelings, it's not as though I'm stingy." Atobe dug out his wallet and then paused, "Oh, I almost forgot, we need to find someone for Tezuka too; who else is free tonight?"

At the mention of his name, Tezuka's head snapped up in alarm. "Atobe...this is..."

Atobe ignored him, only raising a hand to silence him, and turned to Ryuzaki again. "Hopefully, none of the weird ones, I want Tezuka to enjoy himself," He leaned suggestively over the counter and winked at her, "My friend has very high standards."

Ryuzaki giggled, it was very unsettling to see a woman her age giggle like that, Tezuka looked down at his shoes again. He heard rustling of papers, and then her voice, "Well, let's see, tonight's not a busy night, Oshitari's free, Yukimura's free, and Kiri-chan's free, he's kind of psychotic though, so we'll leave him out, and—oh, Fuji's free. I almost forgot about him."

Atobe looked surprised, "Fuji is free?"

She nodded, "He refused to see any patrons this week, I don't completely understand it either, but all of his appointments are canceled, needless to say, no one was very happy. But you could try your luck—before I forget, what's your friend's name?"

"He's Tezuka Kunimitsu." Atobe told her, "But I'm paying for him. It's his first time, after all." Stepping back, he grabbed Tezuka by the arm, "Now, come on, Tezuka, if this all works out right, you're going to be a lucky man." He smirked, "You'll have ore-sama to thank for it too."

Thanking Atobe meant owing Atobe, neither sounded particularly pleasant; and since he had just been lectured about being a virgin, Tezuka saw plenty reason to be very scared.

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But even so, Tezuka was incensed, when they were out of Ryuzaki's line of sight, he pinned Atobe easily against the wall. "Atobe, you've brought me to a...a..._cat house_." He spat the words out, he knew these places existed, even dare to assume that Atobe gone to them, but for him to drag Tezuka in it too--

"This is not just some skanky cat house, Tezuka." Atobe sounded unusually calm, "If they heard you, they would have been offended, this is an elite-caliber brothel. One of the most famous in Tokyo, I might add.." But then he looked amused, "Where'd you learn the word cat house? I don't remember teaching it to you."

Tezuka sighed and looked down at his newly polished shoes, "You didn't, I read it somewhere."

Atobe opened his mouth, and then closed it again; he shrugged, "Whatever, if you don't like it, I won't have you come with me again, but at least try it once, I've already paid. I think you'll like Fuji."

They came to a door, Atobe knocked on it.

A person that looked no more than a boy opened it a crack, and then he opened it wider and stood in the hallway. He was wearing a white summer kimono with embroidered blue cranes, his legs were bare from the knees down, white and perfect. He had the bluest eyes Tezuka had ever seen.

Atobe said, "Hi, Fuji."

The boy Fuji smiled at Atobe, and then at him too, although for him, the smile had an inquisitive edge to it. "Hello, Atobe-sama. Is Ryo-chan throwing a fit again this evening? If he is, I apologize for him, but I'm not seeing anyone tonight."

"I'm on my way to Ryoma in a minute." Atobe stuck his foot in the door when Fuji was just about to close it, "Why aren't you seeing anyone?"

Fuji just said, "Atobe-sama, please move your foot."

"Tell me."

"It's none of your business." Fuji glanced up at him. "I don't feel like seeing anyone. Move your foot."

Tezuka put a warning hand on Atobe's shoulder, "Atobe, you heard him, move your foot and leave him alone. He doesn't want to, I'm not about to force him into doing something he doesn't want to do, I'm not like you."

"Tezuka. Stop it, not you too." Atobe turned to look at him, "Fuji's just being stubborn, just give me a minute."

"Atobe, move your foot."

"_Tezuka_."

"Move your foot."

Atobe heaved an unhappy sigh like a child who had just lost a close fight, but did as he was told, he moved his foot and glared at the ground. Tezuka looked at the boy Fuji, fully expecting him to shut the door. But he didn't, but his eyes weren't on Atobe now, they were on him. Tezuka felt the strangest little shiver crawl up his spine.

"Are you the one that wants to see me tonight?" Fuji asked him simply.

"I'm not going to force you to do anything." Tezuka shook his head, "Forgive Atobe. He needs to remember himself."

"I don't mind seeing you, to tell you the truth. I'm just tired tonight." Another smile, Fuji leaned nonchalantly against the door frame, "If we don't do much, I'll be glad to keep you company. It's actually Atobe-sama that I don't like..." He studied Tezuka for a minute, "...Tezuka-sama, right?"

"Yes, I"m Tezuka." Tezuka nodded.

"I'm Fuji. I have other names too, but I really don't feel like saying in front of Atobe-sama." Fuji opened the door wider, "Would you like to come in?"

At a loss at the invitation, Tezuka looked at Atobe, who shrugged. "Might as well, I did pay." And then he began to walk away, "I wish you luck, Tezuka, see you in the morning."


	2. Chapter II

_**A/N:**_ First and foremost a huge thank you to **_vierblith _**for betaing this for me. Secondly, hugs to all reviewers, you've made my day! And now without further ado, here is Chapter 2! This chapter was a lot of fun.

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**II**

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"Morning?" Tezuka stared blankly at Atobe's back. Then, he turned back to Fuji. "What does he mean by 'morning'?"

Fuji shrugged. "I suppose that means he paid for you for an entire night, Tezuka-sama. It's certainly nice of him to do so. Just come in." He gave his pale wrist a flick of invitation. "I don't bite, I promise."

Tezuka stepped into the room. It looked like any other hotel suite. Everything in the room was white, and it reminded him of his own apartment - completely austere, void of all personality - as if Fuji too didn't know how to reveal himself to the world.

Fuji closed the door after him. "Why don't you take off your suit jacket and tie? I'm sure they're uncomfortable."

"I suppose." Tezuka shrugged off his jacket as requested and set it on a chair. He loosened his tie, and paused. "May I ask you something?"

Fuji had settled himself down on a stool, in front of what looked like a vanity table. "Ask. I might opt not to answer, though, Tezuka-sama."

"Could you stop calling me that?"

Fuji picked up a comb, and inspected it quietly. "What? Tezuka-sama? I guess I could, if you really want. But it's a rule. Most people like it too." He turned at last, his blue eyes making Tezuka shiver again. "If not Tezuka-sama, then what?"

"I don't know. It's unsettling." Tezuka admitted, "I don't even know you."

"Well, then, you have no choice but Tezuka-sama until you think of something, but I'm yours for the night. I'll call you whatever you want – within reason, of course." Fuji began raking the comb gently through his own hair. "Can I ask a question of my own?"

Tezuka laid his tie across the chair. "I'll give you the same answer you gave me. Ask, but I might not answer." And, most likely, he would not answer.

"Why are you here if you don't want to be?"

A long silence stretched between them. It wasn't at all a comfortable, and Tezuka found that he had no words to say. He couldn't tell Fuji the real reason; Fuji worked in a cat house—rather, an elite-caliber brothel and was nothing more than a boy. Of course Fuji would laugh.

"I decline to answer that."

Fuji laughed lightly, "I thought you'd say that." He put the comb down, and spun around in his stool. "Atobe-sama probably forced you to come. That's nothing to be ashamed of. He has brought lots of people to me."

Tezuka still didn't say anything. For one who sold bodily pleasures for a living, he had a feeling that Fuji's mind was something to be reckoned with, too. "Did you like any of them?"

"I can't answer that. It's against the rules too." Fuji told him, sounding just a little remorseful. "Try asking me something else."

"How old are you?" Tezuka himself was twenty-seven next month, and he knew that Atobe had a tendency to create sex scandals around employees or executives he didn't like. While Tezuka was pretty sure he was the only colleague who didn't suffer the other's wrath (yet), there was no harm in checking.

"I'm not the youngest one here, although I guess you could say we're all young. I'm five. In two more years, I'll be six."

Tezuka blinked; Fuji obviously didn't look six. And then it hit him, "...Ah, you were born on February 29th, right? So it makes you...twenty-two?"

"Yes. And I'll tell you a secret. Ryo-chan just turned twenty, so Atobe-sama has been breaking the law for three years before that." Fuji actually sounded quite pleased about it. He sounded quite casual too as if he didn't know that what he had just relayed to Tezuka had been something of a great bombshell.

All Tezuka could say was, "Oh."

Fuji's expression dropped, "Did I... offend you, Tezuka-sama? Atobe-sama is your friend, isn't he?" He looked properly ashamed. "Sorry."

Now that Tezuka thought about it, were he and Atobe really friends? Perhaps. The answer depended on which definition everyone tried to use, actually. Tezuka was pretty sure though that he and Atobe Keigo did not employ the same definitions of the word. But he shrugged anyway. "I'm not offended, just surprised."

Fuji lifted his head, relieved again. "But you won't tell him? Technically, I'm not supposed to say anything about other clients. But for Atobe-sama I make exceptions in everything. And he's not exactly breaking the law now, so..."

Tezuka couldn't think of any reason why he'd have to bring up the fact that Atobe had been consorting with an underage...prostitute (it sounded nicer than whore, at any rate) for a number of years, unless he was drunk or tipsy again. But he certainly didn't plan on it. "It's not like we'll...talk about this in a normal conversation."

The boy (even at five and a half - twenty-two, really - Tezuka realized that he still saw Fuji that way and he blamed it on the kimono) looked at him with a faint smile. "This embarrasses you, Tezuka-sama."

"...Well...I suppose it does a little." The idea of denial hadn't even crossed his mind before he answered; he'd never learned how to lie. "It's more...awkward than embarrassing, and it's not your fault."

Tezuka almost cringed, as the blue eyes studied him. "Is it awkward because you're a virgin, Tezuka-sama?"

Tezuka opened his mouth. But he thought better of it and said nothing at all. Of course his silence was taken for the truth. Perhaps Tezuka's paranoia was just kicking in, but he thought he saw the other's vague smile turn a few inches into a teasing smirk. Still, he couldn't think of anything to say. For once - perhaps a first in his life – he said nothing; there simply were no words to say.

Probably the silence got so insufferable that Fuji took pity on him, and said, "Tezuka-sama, being a virgin isn't a bad thing. I mean, to Atobe-sama it's an embarrassment, which is probably why you're here, but it's not a bad thing." He got up from his stool and walked over to where Tezuka was still standing erect next to the chair. He came up to only Tezuka's shoulder, seeming like a delicate little thing.

"How can you tell?" Tezuka asked finally, feeling more than a little stupid.

"I just can. It's what I do for a living." Fuji shrugged. "That, and Atobe-sama always brings me virgins."

"They don't leave that way...do they?"

"Most of them are eager not to." Fuji touched Tezuka's arm. And even with the thin cotton between them, Tezuka's skin tingled. "But I think you're different." He dropped his hand, and Tezuka let out a breath he hadn't been aware of holding.

Tezuka looked down at the boy, and realized that the latter's eyes were too innocent, yet too knowing. He didn't understand Fuji at all. He didn't want to understand Fuji either. They were, after all, from worlds as different as black and white.

"I'm making you uncomfortable again. I'm sorry." But this time, there was a smile on Fuji's face. "You're making this very hard for me, Tezuka-sama."

"That's what Atobe said," Tezuka said.

"Did he? I regret saying what I did then. I'll try to make your evening pleasant. I promise I won't touch you at all for you seem to be a little hesitant when it comes to that. We'll just have tea and talk. What kind of tea do you like?"

Tezuka was surprised at first, but he was grateful for the change in conversation. If Fuji was going to try to outdo Atobe, that was a relief by all means. The boy probably did not even have to try hard. "I don't really drink that much tea; I have too much coffee for my own good. But make whatever you'd like."

"Ah, all right. Sit down on the couch and make yourself comfortable then, Tezuka-sama. I'll only be a minute."

Tezuka sat down on the couch as instructed as Fuji headed over to the corner kitchenette and busied himself with tea. Fuji was not going to touch him tonight. The thought lifted a huge weight off of his chest. Atobe would probably rant tomorrow about how money was wasted, but still...

"Fuji."

"Yes, Tezuka-sama?"

"It's probably useless asking, but...can Atobe tell?"

"Tell what? Whether or not you lost your virginity to me?" Fuji glanced back to him. Mildly perplexed, he thought for a moment, "I'm almost positive that he can. He _is_ Atobe-sama."

Tezuka sighed.

The smile Fuji gave this time was a small sympathetic one. "With friends like Atobe-sama, you don't need enemies, ne?" He made his way over to the couch, with a small porcelain pot and two teacups. Setting them on the table not too far away, he took a seat beside Tezuka on the couch. "If you'd like, I can make up excuses for you."

"Excuses?" Tezuka watched as the boy poured tea.

"Yes, Tezuka-sama, excuses. I'll make excuses for you; it's the least I can do." He offered Tezuka a delicate teacup, the faint scent of herbs filling Tezuka's nose. "I'll just say that I didn't like you and you didn't like me, so nothing happened. He'll believe me. I'm picky, after all."

Tezuka took the cup, and, when their fingers brushed for the first time, he shivered again.

"Fuji...you're lying, right?"

Fuji let go of his hand and picked up his own cup. He shrugged one shoulder, as if the question didn't bother him at all. "Yes, I'm lying to Atobe-sama. I like you, Tezuka-sama, which is why I'm lying for you. You can't do it yourself."

Tezuka stared hard at his tea, willing the dark gold liquid to provide the answers he didn't have.

He didn't know what to say again. Never had he been told that he was liked in any way… Even when he was younger and when those feelings were easier conveyed, never had the words been said so casually – like they had no meaning at all. And Fuji had talked about lying in the same way, as if it was a shame that Tezuka wasn't capable of telling a lie.

A white hand settled on Tezuka's knee. "I didn't mean that in a bad way, Tezuka-sama. Don't misunderstand."

Now he just felt stupid for misunderstanding; of course, Fuji had meant well. He glanced at his watch as he always did when there was nothing else better to do. It was getting on towards eleven. Not late, of course, to someone like Tezuka who rarely slept. But Fuji looked like he wasn't one of those people so Tezuka changed the subject. "You said you were tired. Aren't you going to sleep?"

"I'm all right if we're just talking." Fuji sipped his tea and poured some more onto his cup. His hand rubbed Tezuka's knee absently. "Or do you not like my company?"

Tezuka drank more tea. When Tezuka's cup was empty, Fuji refilled it without asking. "I...well, this is awkward. That's all. I...like your company, really. And... I guess I don't want you to be tired."

Fuji's ever unwavering smile seemed uncertain now. "You're...worried about me?"

"Should I not be? You said you were tired, and you look tired."

The boy shifted, and his hand was gone from Tezuka's knee. "I'm not used to having people worry about me. So...I...well, it's a little awkward for me too." He paused. "Can I lean on your shoulder, Tezuka-sama?"

There seemed to be a lot of awkward moments between them. This was expected though; Fuji was only a paid company. But Tezuka started slightly at the request and looked at the boy beside him, "If you'd like."

Fuji hesitated, only for a moment, and then he leaned over just so slightly to settle his head on Tezuka's shoulder.

It was too simple a touch, and yet, for a man who had never been touched, Tezuka didn't know what to do again. Was he supposed to shift to make himself comfortable? Or was he supposed to just stay still? But Fuji seemed quite comfortable so Tezuka retained his composure.

There was silence. But this silence, unlike the other ones, didn't stretch until it broke. In this silence, Tezuka could hear Fuji's breathing – slow and even.

"Fuji?"

"Mm?"

"Won't a bed be more comfortable than my shoulder?"

His only answer was Fuji snuggling closer, sighing, "I like Tezuka-sama's shoulder better."

"Oh." Tezuka said nothing else after that. The next time he checked, Fuji was asleep. For a moment, Tezuka was at a loss, but then Tezuka settled a hand over Fuji's on his knee and closed his eyes.


	3. Chapter III

**_A/N:_ **I know this is a late update, and my apologies for that, school has been hectic and writer's block has not being kind -..-. Love to Vierblith for betaing again. And I hope everyone enjoys! I had lots of fun xD.

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**III**

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He was on a very uncomfortable bed that smelled faintly of ancient leather. His head pounded, and there was a soft hand gently rubbing his shoulder. A soft voice called for him.

"Tezuka-sama."

It was an unfamiliar name, an unfamiliar voice, and when Tezuka managed to open his eyes, there was a blurred, unfamiliar ceiling above him. His eyelids were suddenly heavier than he'd remembered them, and he closed his eyes again.

But sleep would not come.

The voice was insistent. It was only a child's voice. "Tezuka-sama, wake up. Your breakfast is about to get cold."

Tezuka shifted to his side. "I don't eat breakfast," he mumbled.

"That's not healthy." The child was disapproving. "You should start eating breakfast. Wake up. It's almost ten and Atobe-sama is going to come for you soon."

Almost ten.

Almost ten...

Tezuka bolted upright as if someone had switched on his battery power. He rubbed sleep out of his eyes. He never went to sleep, for fear of oversleeping...and now his worst fear was realized. He had overslept...on the couch of a high-caliber brothel and...

His vision was still foggy, but he made out the outline of a boy standing not too far away from the couch, holding a tray of something.

"Your glasses, Tezuka-sama."

Tezuka felt his glasses pressed into his hand. The boy's fingers were warm and soft. Tezuka put the glasses on with a nod of thanks. The outline of the boy became the sharp image of... Fuji. Tezuka realized with a start that he did know the boy who stood in front of him.

Fuji was in a fresh kimono with his white legs still bare. Except that this time the kimono was black with gold embroidered leaves, and Tezuka thought Fuji looked pale.

"Fuji."

"Yes?"

Tezuka looked around. His jacket was slung over the chair, exactly as he had left it the night before. His tie was there too. He felt like he had just woken up from a dream. But if he was here, then he must still be dreaming.

Fuji smiled at him. The smile was almost wistful. "You're still a virgin, don't worry."

"I..." Tezuka hadn't really thought about that. He had actually been fine, until Fuji brought it up. How could such a word be spoken so carelessly in a casual conversation?

"I wasn't thinking about that, actually." Tezuka looked towards the table and his eyes settled on the tray. "I wasn't...thinking about that, actually. But thank you, it's reassuring. Is that...my breakfast?"

Fuji nodded and sat down next to him, pulling the tray towards them.

Tezuka watched in mild interest as Fuji moved to introduce him enthusiastically to the contents of his breakfast. "See, Tezuka-sama, this is your miso soup, and your rice, and salmon. Peaches are in season so I got you some of those too."

Tezuka paused. The boy looked so happy, so proud of himself. He didn't want to burst Fuji's bubble.

A familiar hand settled on his knee.

"You don't like it...?"

Fuji's voice dropped a few notches, and so did Tezuka's stomach. Tezuka couldn't bear to tell the boy that he didn't eat breakfast. He never ate anything, actually, unless the company was holding a banquet. Since he was important, he always went to those events. Routine, though, was a cup of coffee in the morning, a cold sandwich for lunch (and most of the time he didn't even have the time to finish that), and dinner was microwave cup noodles.

"No, I like it." Tezuka said, "It's just...overwhelming. I don't eat breakfast."

"Oh." Fuji's disappointment was evident.

"But I'll eat it if you eat with me."

The boy was all smiles again. He laid his head on Tezuka's shoulder, like he had done the night before, and nodded. "I can do that. I'll feed you too, if you want."

"I..." At the mention of being fed, Tezuka felt uneasy again.

Fuji must have sensed Tezuka's discomfort because the boy shrugged, "I'm just kidding." He took the only pair of chopsticks, picked up a piece of salmon, and lifted it up to his mouth carefully, making sure Tezuka was watching.

Realizing that he was watching too intently, Tezuka felt the chopsticks pressed into his hand.

"Your turn."

Tezuka took the chopsticks with noticeable hesitation.

"Should I feed you after all, Tezuka-sama?"

Tezuka looked at the boy. "Fuji...you're going to lie to Atobe for me, right? You don't like me and I don't like you. That's why nothing happened, right?"

The boy thought for a minute and rubbed Tezuka's knee absently. "Yes, that's what I'm going to tell him. You don't have to say anything at all, I promise."

"But if he thinks that I don't like you, and that you don't like me..." Tezuka set the chopsticks down and slowly, tentatively, his arm went around the boy. Fuji tensed, but he relaxed again after a moment. "I won't see you again."

Fuji nodded. "That's likely." He paused, "Would you like to see me again, Tezuka-sama?"

Tezuka didn't meet the boy's eyes, eyes so blue that it seemed to know everything. "I would like to, but just to talk. I like talking to you." Tezuka Kunimitsu didn't like talking to anyone, so that was saying a lot.

The boy smiled. "You can call me. I have a phone. I only give out my number to people I like though." He laughed, as Tezuka's face fell. "Don't worry, I like you."

Tezuka watched as Fuji gave his knee one final assuring rub and stood up, went over to vanity table and scribbled something on a piece of paper.

"Here's my number." The boy held it out to him. "You can call me anytime."

Tezuka stared at the slip of paper. "Anytime?" He said. The doubt was evident in his voice.

"Anytime." Fuji repeated, "But if I'm with a client, I'll ask you to call back, or I'll call you back."

"Oh. All right then." Clients, right...Fuji was...well, the nicest way to put it was a paid company. Tezuka would have to share. He pocketed the piece of paper and Fuji sat back down. This time he sat close enough to Tezuka so that their knees touched.

"Come on, you know I'll still make you eat no matter how you try to distract me." Fuji sighed and picked up the chopsticks. "I guess I'll have to feed you, Tezuka-sama." He deftly speared a piece of salmon and held it up. "Here, open."

Tezuka stared at the food offered to him, and took in Fuji's hopeful smile. He sighed. Having someone wait for his every move was very strange, but Fuji seemed to like it. Tezuka finally ate the piece of salmon offered to him.

This seemed to relax Fuji who put the chopsticks down. "See? Not so bad."

Not so bad, Tezuka agreed, but only in his mind.

Fuji sighed. "Tezuka-sama, you're very hard on yourself, aren't you? You never let yourself have any fun." He sighed, for the first time. "It must be very troublesome for you to live this way."

Tezuka tensed, saying nothing.

"You don't smile either."

The nice tingle of the salmon immediately turned to ashes on his tongue. His gaze down at Fuji was a demeaning one. The other had said too much. "You seem to smile enough for the both of us anyway."

Fuji was unexpectedly sober. "Sometimes I won't feel like smiling though. Then, you will have to smile, Tezuka-sama."

Tezuka found nothing to say to that. So he said nothing and did nothing and Fuji took the opportunity to feed him another piece of salmon.

-

It was almost laughable, and Tezuka would have laughed if it had been in him to laugh. When Atobe did came for him, Fuji didn't even have to say anything. Atobe just smiled at the boy and Fuji smiled back. No questions asked.

When Fuji looked at Tezuka, though, things got awkward again.

The boy tilted his head. "You'll call me?"

Atobe raised a brow. Tezuka ignored him. "Yes, I'll call you."

"Soon?"

Tezuka hadn't been expecting that, but Fuji looked so hopeful so Tezuka nodded. "Ah, soon. I promise."

"Okay." Fuji's hand brushed his arm as he closed the door. "Good bye, Tezuka-sama."

Atobe coughed.

Fuji had to roll his eyes. "Good bye, Atobe-sama."

-

Atobe started the questions on the car. The car was actually something that surprised Tezuka. It was perfectly intact, without even a scratch. But he didn't have time to wonder more about why it wasn't stolen in the dead of the night because Atobe said:

"For a newly none-virgin, you're awfully quiet."

"Aren't I always quiet?"

Atobe scoffed, "Well...of course you are. But this is a special occasion; you're not a virgin and you lost it to a very special person." His smirk grew. "So, how was it? Do I have to get you drunk before you tell me?"

"No, I'll tell you." But Tezuka did not look at him, "Because nothing happened." Well, that wasn't at all hard to say.

The car jerked to an abrupt stop. There was a loud—no, there was a series of loud honking noises- and, after Atobe took about three seconds to collect himself, he started driving again. "Nothing happened?! You're joking."

"No, I'm not." Tezuka said, "Nothing happened." He paused. "I'll pay you back if you want." It wasn't as if he didn't have money and instead lived on Atobe's charity. "How much?"

The other man still looked as if Tezuka had slapped him in the face. "But...but he gave you his number! Fuji _never_ gives out his number."

This surprised Tezuka at first but he recovered instantly. "Don't you have his number?"

"I do, but I'm a special case." And then Atobe was oddly silent on the way home. Tezuka was glad.

-

Home for Tezuka consisted of a small apartment on the more glamorous side of town. But it was austere, with no trace of personality whatsoever. The furniture was almost all black and white and clean, since that was how Tezuka preferred his world to be.

He didn't have much of a social life either so there were no messages on his private machine - except for the one that his mother left him a few days ago.

Tezuka sat on the couch. Atobe had dropped him off at the office and sent him home. But Tezuka was always welcome to go drinking with Atobe and the others, if he ever felt like it.

He rarely, if ever, felt like drinking.

After a moment's thought, he dug out the slip of paper that Fuji had given him, and unrolled it. It was a ripped strip of what looked to be like expensive stationery.

_Fuji Syusuke: 229-1007_

Fuji had a straightforward handwriting, his numbers were curled just so, and there was no slanting. Yet the boy knew how to lie so well. It didn't make any sense at all. Tezuka stared at it a minute more, and laid the scrap of paper beside the phone, doubting that he'd ever call the number.

-

"Are you sure you don't want to go drinking?"

Tezuka had to roll his eyes at that. Atobe knew his answer, yet Atobe just always had to call. "No, not particularly. Go without me."

"Tezuka, you're no fun."

"It's not my life mission to be fun." Tezuka replied curtly, staring forward at a blank television screen. He'd never watched television. For news, he read four different newspapers everyday in two languages. Definitely not fun.

Atobe sighed over the phone. "Tell me about it. I actually lost my mind and paid for you just so you can spend a night with _the_ Fuji only to find out that nothing happened."

"If you're still upset about that, I told you I'd pay you back." Tezuka said, amused despite how tired he was about the topic in discussion. "You never told me how much it was."

Atobe's sigh was a bit more exasperated than the last. "You...honestly, what am I going to do with you?"

Tezuka sighed too, except that his sigh was a resigned one. "You don't have to do anything. I can amuse myself just fine. Why don't you just go drink?"

"All right, all right, shoot me for trying to be helpful." Atobe said, "At least you got his number. It's not a total loss. Give him a call tonight, okay? If you do that, I'll drink in peace."

Tezuka hung up. Atobe was...well, Atobe was Atobe – insufferable and exasperating. He should have never picked up the phone. But as he went to hang up the receiver, his eyes fell on that bit of stationery.

He had promised Fuji he would call soon. And, no matter who asked what of him, if Tezuka promised, he always stuck to his word. He stared at the paper and looked at the phone. Fuji was a busy boy; Fuji himself admitted that the chances of his not picking up were high.

Before his logical side won over, Tezuka dialed the number, sat back on the couch, and waited.

-

"Syusuke, your phone is ringing." A hand was shaking him gently, "Get up. You slept enough."

Fuji opened his eyes and realized that he was in bed, clutching the covers, wearing his usual silk kimono without the obi. He stared blankly into the face of Shiraishi Kuranosuke and almost didn't recognize him, which was utterly ridiculous. Shiraishi was one of his more loyal patrons and Shiraishi came to him regularly.

Fuji looked at the phone the man held out to him. He wanted to sleep more. He didn't want to answer the phone.

"Leave me alone, Shiraishi-sama, I'm tired." He whined to his pillow. "Who is it?"

"It's..." Shiraishi scrutinized the phone. "A Tezuka Kunimitsu? Who's he?"

Fuji's face lit up, but only for a second or two, and then he turned to face the wall, away from Shiraishi. "No one."


	4. Chapter IV

_**A/N:**_ First and foremost a big thank you to my betas vierblith and hakkaisensei. I'm sorry for this late update because of exams and hell in general, but for once in my life I'm happy with something I wrote! -insert pitiful little self applause here- um, yeah. Happy reading!

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-

**IV**

-

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Tezuka counted twenty rings before he finally gave up. He put the phone down, trying to convince himself that he wasn't disappointed at all. It was only natural and expected that Fuji wouldn't answer.

He put the phone down and rubbed the bridge of his nose. No, he wasn't disappointed at all. Tezuka had known this would happen; there was no use being disappointed about it.

He wasn't disappointed.

Tezuka wasn't...

He was just a tiny bit annoyed, not at Fuji, but rather at Atobe. It was easier when everything was Atobe's fault, and, more often than not, everything was.

And before his logical side could tell him he was just lying to himself, Tezuka took a long hot shower and went to bed. Sleep solved everything though he usually liked solving problems and hence never slept at all.

Tonight, however, seemed to be an exemption.

-

"What are you doing right now?" Maybe it was just Tezuka's imagination, but Atobe sounded rather sluggish over the phone.

"I'm...reading." Tezuka said calmly, flipping a page of the magazine that he was perusing. The only thing that was possibly strange about all this was the fact that Atobe had made the phone call at six in the morning. Six wasn't early for Tezuka, but, for Atobe, it was a different story.

"What are you reading?"

"Stocks."

"Why?"

"Because." Tezuka said, and left it at that because he didn't owe Atobe an explanation for anything. "Which brings me to ask, why are you calling me at six o' clock in the morning?"

"Well, you'd be up. I knew that."

For a minute, Tezuka said nothing. He almost wanted to tell Atobe that he had called Fuji, but that the boy hadn't picked up. But then what could Atobe do? So Tezuka chose not to. "You're hung over, aren't you?"

"No." Then, Tezuka heard, "Yeah. I guess I am. You can shoot me at work."

Tezuka hadn't planned on saying it, but it just slipped out: "Actually...I was thinking of not going to work. Can you excuse me today?"

There was a shocked pause on Atobe's end. "I... well, of course I can do that. Ore-sama can do anything, you know. Just never thought you'd ask. What's the occasion?"

"I just felt like it," Tezuka answered. He had nothing planned. He turned the page, and his lips twitched. Atobe actually believed that he could do anything. It was almost laughable.

"You're strange this morning, Tezuka. Good bye then, I'll call later. Take the day off."

Atobe hung up then, and Tezuka picked up another magazine. Atobe was the strange one; he never called this early in the morning though he knew Tezuka was almost always certain to be awake.

Just as Tezuka put his phone down on the pillow beside him, it went off again. Tezuka almost ignored it until he realized it wasn't Atobe. The flickering screen announced 'Fuji Syusuke'.

Fuji Syusuke.

Tezuka sighed, took a deep breath, and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"You called me last night," said Fuji's light silky voice. Tezuka thought that Fuji sounded like a girl. "Did I call too early, Tezuka-sama?"

"No, I was up," Tezuka said and, then, he stopped because he didn't want to say anything stupid.

"Ah, that's good. I didn't want to wake you up." Fuji seemed content just to talk, and Tezuka was content just to listen. He liked hearing Fuji's voice – he could admit that in private. It would probably be more than a little embarrassing to say it out loud though. "I guess I should apologize first before you get mad. I'm sorry for not picking up last night. I was with Shiraishi-sama; he would have gotten mad."

"It's all right. I knew that you were probably busy anyway," Tezuka lied, or tried to, and he thought he made a good job.

Fuji laughed, but it wasn't at all mocking, it was just a child's laugh. "Tezuka-sama. It's all right to tell me if you're jealous too. I like hearing it."

"I..." Tezuka never thought of denying it. "...But hearing it and admitting it aren't the same. I think it's harder on my end."

"I suppose so. But you can work on that," Fuji agreed amiably. "Shall we talk about something else, then? We can talk about whatever you like."

Tezuka being Tezuka, said, "I can't think of anything."

Fuji laughed again, "I can think of something then, Tezuka-sama." There was a long pause. "You asked me how old I was yesterday; how old are you?"

"I'm...almost twenty-seven. Next month." For the first time, Tezuka felt ancient.

"Okay." There was a pause, as if Fuji was committing that piece of information to memory. "When's your birthday? I'll get you something nice."

"My birthday? October 7th," Tezuka said. "But you don't have to give me anything. I'm a little old for presents, don't you think?"

"Atobe-sama's older than you, and he gets presents." Fuji said, "Don't worry, Tezuka-sama; I won't get you anything too embarrassing. Or you can tell me what you like. What would you like for your birthday?"

So Fuji knew when Atobe's birthday was. But then, that wasn't surprising at all. "...Have you ever gotten something for Atobe?"

"No. He hates me for it," Fuji said, as if it was nothing of importance. "I don't really care. He has too many people giving him presents anyway."

That implied that Fuji didn't think that anyone gave Tezuka presents, but the latter didn't get offended. Tezuka thought for a minute. "Anything I want?"

"Within reason, of course. I'm not Atobe-sama, you have to remember."

Tezuka closed his eyes and saw the boy in a white kimono, smiling.

"Then I want you to spend time with me on my birthday. That's all."

There was a long pause. "That's...all?"

"Yes. For my birthday, I want you to have a cup of coffee with me," Tezuka said. When he said it for the second time, he grew more certain that this was indeed what he wanted for his birthday.

"Yes, then. On one condition, though," Fuji said. "You have to promise, Tezuka-sama."

Tezuka was a little disconcerted. "That depends."

"You have to spend the night with me, and let me make you breakfast. And you'll have to finish your breakfast," Fuji replied, probably still smiling; perhaps, his smile even grew, "All right?"

"What if I don't?"

"Then I'll make you spend the night with me anyway and I'll force-feed you breakfast. Have you even had breakfast, Tezuka-sama? For today, I mean."

He let out a sigh, and he realized that the magazine was still on his lap. Tezuka set it aside. "No, I haven't. Have you?"

"No. Shiraishi-sama left when I woke up, so...not yet." Fuji sounded disappointed, and Tezuka wondered if he should be jealous of this Shiraishi person. "But I'm going to make myself breakfast in a minute. You're probably not going to eat at all. Am I right?"

"Yes."

"Tezuka-_sama_..."

Tezuka was being scolded by a boy. A mere boy. Yet his lips almost curled into a smile. "Fuji, I'm not like you. Are you wearing a white kimono right now?"

"I am." Fuji sounded surprised.

"The one that you wore when I saw you. The one with the cranes?"

Fuji laughed. "Yes, I am. I like wearing it, it still smells like you." There was a pause and Tezuka heard faint rustling on the other end, "Tell me something else."

"You're lying down. On the couch," Tezuka said, surprising himself more than Fuji, probably. However, the comment that Fuji's kimono still smelled like him was a little...well, odd. "With one leg dangling off."

"It seems I can't put anything past you, Tezuka-sama." But for what it was worth, Fuji sounded happy. "My turn. You're...hmm, in bed, it's probably a very big bed. And you're wearing - I don't know what you're wearing. What are you wearing?"

Tezuka looked down and took note of his attire. "I'm wearing a shirt and loose pants," he reported dutifully, finding this amusing despite his tendency not to be amused by anything.

"Oh, that makes sense. Okay, um, half of your bed is made, the other half isn't because you're sitting on it. You're also reading something. Something boring."

"It's not boring." Tezuka felt the need to defend himself this time. "...It's a business magazine, and, if you figure out what it's talking about, it's actually interesting."

Fuji smiled. This was a tolerant smile; Tezuka closed his eyes and just knew. "Heh, I know I'll never make sense of it, that's why it's boring."

Fuji probably would never make sense of it, which was all right. Tezuka doubted he'd understand Fuji either, if the boy ever bothered to explain his lifestyle to Tezuka. A warm silence stretched between them. Tezuka laid his head down on the pillow, feeling strangely content for the first time in a long while.

"Fuji, you're going to fix fish and rice again, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

Tezuka said nothing for a while because the silence was warm. Then, he said, "If...if you could have anything for breakfast, what would you have?"

"Anything?" Fuji thought. "I would have...well, as a kid I'd have a strawberry parfait, and I'd have a stack of pancakes with lots of chocolate syrup." He laughed wistfully. "But I was a kid then, and it sounds very silly now, Tezuka-sama."

It did indeed sound silly, but it also sounded like Fuji, and the thought was unexpectedly endearing. "...No it doesn't. Are you busy this morning?"

If Fuji knew he was lying, the boy didn't bother to correct him this time, probably because he thought that Tezuka was probably a helpless case. "I_'__m – not really,_but don't you have work to do?"

"According to Atobe, I don't have to go to work." Tezuka said, "Since you're not busy, would you like to have a strawberry parfait and pancakes with chocolate syrup with me today?"

Fuji hesitated. "...Well, of course, but Tezuka-sama doesn't sound like the type to like sweets."

"I don't, but I don't mind having coffee and toast this morning." Tezuka asked, "Is that a yes, then?"

"Yes, it is."

-

Tezuka was almost as wealthy as Atobe, and yet his head spun when he saw the number that popped up on Ryuzaki's computer. It wasn't as if he couldn't afford such a sum, it was just... he didn't think 'renting' the boy out of the brothel for a few hours would equate to a week's worth of salary. Ryuzaki looked at him.

"I'll be honest with you, Tezuka-sama. I don't like letting Fuji go out," Ryuzaki said, and glanced at the said boy, who was sitting quietly on a chair. For once, Fuji wasn't wearing a kimono; he wore a t-shirt and jeans and faded sneakers. "He's not the type to behave himself."

"Sumire-sama, that's not true!" Fuji stuck out his tongue like a child. "I behave myself plenty of times..."

The look that she gave him was a severe one and Fuji stared meekly at the floor. "If you let me go out with Tezuka-sama, I'll keep all my appointments this week. Even the night appointments with people I don't like."

Ryuzaki shot a suspicious look at Tezuka now. Fuji was temperamental, she knew that, and the boy made more appointments than he could keep and ended up canceling mostly all of them. Who was this Tezuka that Fuji would consent to the sacrifice of keeping all of his appointments?

"Really? Including the one with Mizuki-sama on Thursday?"

Fuji winced, but nodded. "Yes, with Mizuki-sama too. I promise. I won't try to poison him either." He said it so casually that Tezuka was alarmed. "Now, may I please go out with Tezuka-sama?"

"If you're willing to go that far, I guess I can't stop you." Ryuzaki sighed, at last taking the bills that Tezuka had put on the counter. "But I do expect you back here by three o' clock. You have an appointment with Saeki-sama at four-thirty. You'll need to come back and clean up."

-

Then they were alone in the alleyway. Tezuka looked at the boy next to him, "Am I worth all that? Keeping all your appointments for?"

"No. I just want the breakfast you promised me, Tezuka-sama. It sounded very tantalizing." Fuji smiled a sweet, nonchalant smile. "Besides, if I don't keep my appointments, I'll have no clients soon. That's bad for me."

"Oh." Now, why did Tezuka bother feeling upset? Why did he even feel the need to think he was upset when he wasn't?

"Saa...you take everything too seriously, Tezuka-sama." Fuji nudged his shoulder, "You should loosen up." Fuji took his hand. "Here, let's hold hands. You'll let me, won't you, Tezuka-sama?"

"...I..." Well, the truth was that Tezuka didn't particularly want to, but his hand wanted to. "I guess so."

Fuji nudged him again as they began walking. "You could be a little happier about it." There was a faint pout on the boy's lips. "I don't let many people hold my hand. Hand-holding is special, you know."

And yet Tezuka was sure that beside the fact that the boy had let lots of 'clients' share his bed, hand-holding was...well, of little significance. "What's so special about it?"

The boy looked at their hands. And then he shrugged. "I don't know. I only know it's special. Come on now, Tezuka-sama."


	5. Chapter V

**A/N: **Hello and welcome back! I know this is a late update and all but I apologize, things have bleh as of late, and honestly, don't we all wish that real life didn't exist sometimes? I know I do...and my computer's been giving me endless grief. But I'm glad this chapter is done, it's my favorite chapter by far, which almost make up for things. Thanks to _vierblith _and _hakkaisensei _for their wonderful beta-services as always.

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**V**

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The waitress gave Tezuka and Fuji a strange look before leading them to a side table. They were probably an odd pair; Fuji seemed so much like a boy, clutching at Tezuka's hand just so, and even when they sat down, Fuji refused to let go.

"Tezuka-sama."

Tezuka looked at the boy beside him. "What?"

Fuji idly played with Tezuka's fingers, splaying them, and then closing them into a loose fist again. "Are you married?"

Tezuka flipped one of the glossed menus open with his hand and paused."No, I'm not." He wasn't offended; people had asked him that too many times. "I don't think I ever will be. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know." Fuji shrugged and laid his head on Tezuka's shoulder."Atobe-sama is engaged, isn't he? You just seem like the type that would be married. But then... I guess if you're still a virgin you wouldn't be married." There was a pause. "Why don't you want to get married? It's not so bad from what I've heard. There's always someone to come home to everyday. Wouldn't you like that?"

Fuji knew Atobe was engaged. Of course it wasn't news; Atobe had been engaged for two and a half years and a wedding date had yet to be set. But he wondered how Fuji knew. "Just because Atobe's engaged doesn't mean that he has to get married, and I'm not Atobe."

"You're avoiding the question." Fuji smiled."But, for what it's worth, yes, he's not going to get married. I know that."

Tezuka was at a loss."Do we have to talk about this?"

"Do you not want to?" The boy's thumb rubbed idly against Tezuka's palm.

"Not really." And Tezuka was saved from further explanation because a waitress minced by and asked for their orders. Tezuka ordered black coffee with just cream and no sugar, plus plain buttered toast for himself. And he ordered pancakes with chocolate syrup as well as strawberry parfait for Fuji.

The boy's smile was the most beautiful he'd ever seen.

And when the said pancakes and parfait finally came, Fuji smiled like a child witnessing his first Christmas morning, and let go of Tezuka's hand. At first, Tezuka was a little bit peeved, but seeing Fuji dig into his pancakes with such childish enthusiasm made the corners of his mouth quirk.

This was not missed by Fuji, who had just looked up. The boy had chocolate stains near his jaw, but the stains made him look endearing.

"Tezuka-sama, you were, weren't you?" The boy wiped chocolate from his mouth with the back of one hand. "You were about to smile."

Tezuka's coffee suddenly was bitterer than he'd remembered it. He put down his cup and coughed, and Fuji rubbed Tezuka's back soothingly. "No I wasn't."

Fuji sighed, and took his hand away from Tezuka's back. "It's not a_bad_thing to smile, Tezuka-sama." He turned back to his pancakes, then added, "Would you like some? Toast with butter is boring."

The coffee was bitter, the bread was stale, and the butter was too oily. Fuji didn't seem to like anything Tezuka did. Tezuka look down at his lap,"It seems that everything I do is wrong to you, somehow, Fuji."

The boy paused, properly chastised. "... Sorry."

Tezuka shook his head and drank more coffee."It's all right. Just eat your pancakes."

"Are you sure you don't want any?" Fuji held up a half pancake smeared with chocolate syrup. If it was supposed to be tantalizing, Tezuka failed to see.

"I'm sure." As a further proof, Tezuka downed his coffee. "It's for you, anyway. I can have pancakes whenever I feel like." While Fuji was probably locked away most times with only fish and rice. However, Tezuka never really felt the need to go out and get pancakes for breakfast.

Fuji was unexpectedly sober then; his head was a warm weight on Tezuka's shoulder. "I used to have these for breakfast everyday. Neesan would make them for me everyday. I'd make the parfait though, except when we ran out of strawberries."

Speaking of the parfait, Tezuka looked. It was untouched. He looked at Fuji again, "Is... something wrong with the parfait?"

Fuji shook his head. "No, there's nothing wrong with it, it's just... it tastes strange, I don't remember it tasting like this at all. Would it bother you if I didn't eat it?"

It did; in all honesty, Tezuka didn't like to see anything go to waste, even something as insignificant as a strawberry parfait. But after one look at the boy's forlorn face, Tezuka shook his head."You don't if you don't want to."

Fuji relaxed. "Does it bother you if I lean like this?" he added like an afterthought.

"No." But Tezuka had the vaguest feeling that Fuji knew exactly what bothered him, and what didn't. Even though the boy was still nothing more than an acquaintance, even if he was rented out—that word sounded so odd every time Tezuka thought about it, like it was degrading—from a brothel.

"Ah, that's good." And then Fuji closed his eyes. Tezuka watched him, the waitress passing by to refill Tezuka's coffee watched too. Tezuka let her watch, and when she turned away, Fuji opened his eyes again.

"Fuji...actually... I wanted to ask you a question. It's been bothering me, so..."

The boy bit his lip, and then his eyes lit up again, making him look not so sober. "Okay, I'll answer, even if I don't like the question. But you have to eat a pancake for me first." He sat up and cut a very careful slice of the pancake and speared it carefully with his fork. Then he held it up to Tezuka. "Here."

Tezuka didn't mind pancakes, really, he did not; he just minded the chocolate sauce that dripped from the pancake. He hesitated.

"Oh, come on, Tezuka-sama. There's nothing bad about chocolate pancakes." Fuji chided him with a slight nudge. "You might actually like it."

Tezuka sighed. The boy wasn't likely to stop until he tried the pancake so he bit into the offered, making Fuji beam.

"See? Not so bad at all, Tezuka-sama."

No, it wasn't bad, if Tezuka got used to the blunt sweetness that invaded his mouth. He'd grown used to austere and bitter food, like coffee without sugar, and buttered bread – foods that Fuji deemed boring. He swallowed and took a sip of coffee. "It was... better than I thought it'd be."

Fuji smiled and settled his head back on Tezuka's shoulder. "I told you. You have chocolate on your face. Here, let me get it."

"Thank you."

However, it seemed that their definitions were crossed. Tezuka had expected a napkin to brush the corner of his lips, and yet... he felt warm lips touching the corner of his mouth. Fuji's lips. He froze.

The boy's voice was light. "There, it's gone." And he sounded pleased. A little too pleased, if Tezuka had any say.

"Fuji..."

"Hmm?" Fuji tilted his head to look up at him, "What's wrong, Tezuka-sama?"

"I..." Tezuka found that he had no words to say. "Never mind, it's nothing." He signaled to the waitress for the check.

-

Without asking, Fuji immediately laced their fingers together again after they walked out of the restaurant. He stopped when Tezuka did, and glanced up at the man. "Ne...Tezuka-sama, it's a long way from four-thirty, don't send me back yet, okay?"

"...What?" Tezuka looked at him.

Fuji looked down to the ground, and concentrated on a puddle. "Um... I was just... what time is it?"

Tezuka checked his watch. "Ten-thirty, it's still early. Why?"

Fuji bit his lip."I don't want to go back to the brothel yet. Can we go for a walk?"

It was the first time that Tezuka had heard the word 'brothel' from Fuji's mouth. The way the boy said it told him plenty. He said it in such a way that was resigned, as if the brothel was much too big a force for him to handle, and he had no other choice but to submit to the brothel. It was probably not a happy fate.

He gave the boy's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Sure, I could use a walk. You don't have to go back yet."

Fuji was relieved. He pressed closer to Tezuka. "Thank you."

They walked along in companionable silence until they came to a small parkand the faint buzzing of Tezuka's phone interrupted them. Fuji plopped down on a bench, and tugged until Tezuka relented and sat down. Fuji watched as Tezuka stared at his phone. The man didn't seem happy.

"I'm going to have to take this."

Fuji just smiled."It's all right, go ahead."

Tezuka sighed; the call was from Atobe (who else?) and he had half hoped that the boy would stop him from answering the phone. He was unfortunate in all ways. Tezuka held the phone to his ear."What do you want?" He asked quietly, without a greeting.

"You're so rude all of a sudden, you know that?" However, Atobe did not really sound perturbed, he never did. Not even when it came to Tezuka. "I called your apartment and you weren't there... there's actually an emergency luncheon meeting today at two-thirty, can you make it?"

Tezuka glanced down at the boy, who was looking back at him. "Is it mandatory?" He asked, already knowing what the answer was. The words 'emergency' and 'luncheon' just didn't sound right next to each other.

"Well, obviously yes. You _are _a partner. But ore-sama can cover you, if you really want me to. Are you even in Tokyo right now?"

Now, for Atobe to offer him a favor like that was surprising. But the prospect of having one elitist Atobe Keigo save his skin not once but twice wasn't exactly savory to Tezuka. "I'm in Tokyo, Atobe. You don't have to be so kind. I can make two-thirty."

"You always get so angry when I try to be nice." Atobe's sigh was an annoyed one. "Whatever, just be there by two-thirty." He hung up without a goodbye, which was appropriate, really, seeing how Tezuka hadn't answered with a greeting.

He pocketed his phone, and felt eyes on him, as if the boy knew everything. Fuji simply let out a little laugh.

"Atobe-sama's a character, isn't he?"

Was that resigned affection in Fuji's voice? Tezuka couldn't be sure, but he nodded to agree. Atobe Keigo really was a character. He sighed.

Fuji blinked.

"Tezuka-sama?"

Tezuka shook his head. "Sorry. But we do have to go now. I have to make a meeting at two-thirty."

Fuji paused."I could get mad, you know, and never see you again. You chose Atobe-sama over me. I can get jealous too, Tezuka-sama." The boy didn't seem like a boy anymore, speaking like that.

"Sorry."

And then suddenly, Fuji was a boy again."It's all right, even if I don't like him, Atobe-sama has nice moments sometimes. Could you do something for me though?"

They were holding hands again and walking from the park. "Sure. What is it?"

"When you drop me off, I want you to kiss me."

-

"_When you drop me off, I want you to kiss me."_

Tezuka Kunimitsu wasn't one to think much about kissing. But never had he been told to kiss someone so bluntly. Fuji had turned away after he made his request; it seemed like the boy wasn't looking for a definite answer.

Tezuka was glad. It wasn't as if he hadn't kissed anyone before, but... still, with Fuji Syusuke it seemed everything was different because of what the boy did for a living.

They made their way back to Tezuka's car. It was nowhere near as extravagant and flashy as Atobe's car. Instead, it was practical and economical, and most importantly, it got Tezuka to places.

"Fuji, how do you know Atobe?" The two seemed to be on terms that seemed a little too familiar, and yet it was no secret that they got off on the wrong foot and hadn't bothered to fix it. Which was interesting; usually, when one started off on the wrong foot with Atobe Keigo, one fixed it in a hurry.

The boy smiled."Saa...Atobe-sama and I grew up together. We used to be best friends. As you can see, we're not anymore. That's all. It's really a long boring story."

Used to be best friends. And yet, Atobe Keigo grew up to become one of the country's (perhaps, even the world's) largest business tycoons. While Fuji Syusuke had... become a high level prostitute (honestly, Tezuka wished there was a less blunt way to put this) in the most famous brothel in Tokyo.

Tezuka mulled this over and decided that it made little if any sense at all. But then Atobe Keigo already made no sense, and Fuji Syusuke made even less so the two of them put together...

"Ne, Tezuka-sama?"

There was a red light, so Tezuka braked and turned to look at the boy."Yes?"

"You've kissed before, right?"

It always came back to this. The light turned green and Tezuka started driving, glad for an excuse not to look at Fuji. He had, but it was long ago and he saw it as an accident; it wasn't anything to be proud of.

Fuji read Tezuka's silence, and his smile grew. "Was it nice? Or don't you remember?"

Tezuka still could not bring himself to answer.

The boy's laugh was mocking in Tezuka's ears for the first time, yet the nonchalant smile was still on Fuji's face as he laughed. "Would you like to know about my first kiss?"

Tezuka didn't, but he had the feeling that Fuji was going to tell him anyway.

He was right. "I was twelve and Atobe kissed me for my birthday."

They were at the mouth of the alley, and Tezuka stopped the car. Somehow, it didn't surprise him at all that Atobe had stolen Fuji's first kiss at such a young age. It made his own coming of age story—if one could even call it that – sound quite immature, though it came much later.

"I..." Tezuka took a deep breath. "I was actually in my senior year of high school and got roped into playing some kind of game that required kissing, by the same Atobe."

"Really?" Fuji laughed still, but this time it wasn't mocking at all. "That certainly sounds like him. For the game, did you spin a bottle around and you had to kiss whoever it pointed to?"

"Yes."

"Then you played Spin the Bottle. Haven't played that in ages." Fuji looked at him."Who was it?"

"Some girl."

"Strange. I would have thought that Atobe-sama would have jinxed the bottle somehow. Did you like the girl?"

"I don't remember." And this time, Tezuka was telling the truth; he barely even remembered her name. Tachibana something, but then he could be wrong.

Fuji leaned in, and tilted Tezuka's face towards him a little. Then, tantalizingly soft lips teased Tezuka's own mouth for one moment, one very long moment. And then the boy pulled back.

Tezuka was numb all over.

"Tezuka-sama, go on to work. I'll be fine by myself. Call me later?"

-

Tezuka drove home in a daze. Still in a daze, he changed from the jeans and button-down to an unassuming gray suit. He even drove to work in a daze.

By the time the elevator reached the tenth floor, where the banquet halls were, he was still in a daze. Atobe met him outside and simply looked at him.

"What happened to you?"

Fuji happened, Tezuka thought.

But Tezuka only shrugged. "Nothing. Your tie is crooked."


	6. Chapter VI

**A/N: **Hello all! Long time no update, and I really apologize, I really am still alive XD, I was stuck in camp with crappy internet connection and there's been technical difficulties all around. I'm just happy it's out. Much love to my betas as always, you guys are the best! Please enjoy!

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**VI**

-

* * *

"Syusuke, you're awfully quiet."

It was a soft silky voice that drowsed somewhere above him. Silky hands too, combed through his hair. Fuji kept his eyes closed. He sighed, "Yukimura, about Sanada-sama..."

"What about Genichirou?" Yukimura Seiichi continued to work his hands through Fuji's hair. He was much older than Fuji, but age was kind to him and only his eyes were old and every other part of his body seemed decidedly immortal. He seemed to be on first-name terms with everyone, and everyone loved him; he was gifted in all kinds of love, and he loved and was loved without thought.

Fuji wasn't like that at all, his tongue too sharp, his eyes too bright, lips too tempting, heart too unfaithful. Yukimura was who everyone wanted to become, and Fuji was the closest, yet furthest away.

"You are in love with him, right?"

Yukimura laughed, "Yes, I am, very much."

Fuji looked at Yukimura through the mirror, contentedly brushing his hair. The other wore a dark gray kimono embroidered with black lilies on the edges. Sanada Genichirou liked such dark colors, and because Yukimura loved Sanada-sama so much, he wore those colors. Even if the constant soberness of his attire made him appear sickly.

Yukimura had even gone so far as to give away most of his white kimonos, and Fuji had inherited most of his collection. Fuji wondered vaguely if Tezuka liked white; if Tezuka ever worked up the courage to call again, he would be sure to ask him.

"...Syusuke?"

"I..." Fuji sat up. "...Yukimura, why do you love Sanada-sama?"

Yukimura smiled at him. " 'Because' is something I can't answer. Not because I don't want to, Syusuke, but because I can't. You do not ever love someone for a reason, you just love them. There is no reason. They say love is mad."

Fuji rolled his eyes. "Have you been borrowing books from Oshitari again?"

"No," Yukimura shook his head. "But I'm in love. So I know. I don't need sensational novels to tell me how I'm supposed to feel."

Fuji sighed and lay his head down; it was getting close to four-thirty, Saeki was coming. He didn't dislike Saeki, but he wasn't entirely thrilled to see him either.

"Syusuke, you're not in love, are you?" Yukimura chided him.

Fuji thought of Tezuka, who had cringed at a simple kiss. He had once told Yukimura that he didn't plan on falling in love and he still didn't plan on it, he had done it once before and reaped only sour fruits from it. But then he hadn't planned on Tezuka either.

"It's not a bad thing. Even if you had...what happened before."

And then Yukimura would always stop there; there was an invisible wall between them when it came to that. Seeing as how Fuji still didn't respond, Yukimura changed the subject.

"I'm leaving by the end of the month, Genichirou says he has the house ready for me."

Sanada Genichirou also worked with Atobe Keigo. He was probably a cutthroat businessman in his own right. He probably owned three houses in three different countries and was fabulously wealthy, as everyone affiliated with Atobe Keigo had to be. Yet the few times that Fuji had had the opportunity to meet this Sanada Genichirou, it was always in Yukimura's presence.

In front of Yukimura, Fuji found Sanada-sama to be a mild-mannered man, twisted, if not completely, almost all the way around Yukimura's finger. Sanada had a respectable wife, and an adorable son Fuji had met on one occasion. Yukimura had treated the boy as if he were his own son.

"Yukimura, I think I'm jealous of you," he said, rather forlornly.

The other looked surprised, and then shook his head. "Don't. I'm subjecting myself to a horrible fate. I might even end up like you." But for someone speaking of so dire a fate, Yukimura seemed happy. "I love him, but I'll never be able to love him anywhere in public. He just bought a house by the sea for me, it's small and no one knows about it."

Fuji hesitated, "I don't see how you manage. Loving someone is very traumatizing."

"It is," Yukimura agreed. "But it is also a beautiful thing." He glanced towards the clock and stood. "I should go, it's almost time."

"Can I come by and see you once you leave?"

Yukimura smiled. "Of course you may."

"Will you miss me?"

There was a whisper of a kiss on his forehead. "Of course." Yukimura let himself out.

-

Their sister franchise from Portugal had sent people over; it wasn't much of a meeting, it was mostly just a lot of food and fine Spanish wine and Tezuka was convinced that Atobe had lied to him. It wouldn't be the first time, and it wouldn't be the last time, either.

Yet this was the first time that Tezuka had felt genuinely annoyed by the fact that he had been played so easily by Atobe. This was so obviously a ploy to get him to loosen up and drink. He couldn't help noticing how his glass was always full, and the executive seated to his right had a permanently red face from too much alcohol.

He also couldn't help but notice that he and Atobe were the only senior partners present; Sanada was nowhere to be found and Jiroh, Atobe's promising lackey wasn't there either. But then, Jiroh was probably asleep somewhere and unable to be roused; it was the absence of the former that was surprising.

Atobe showed the rest of the executives out with a too-cheerful smile and closed the doors behind him.

Tezuka stood there looking at him.

Atobe bit his lip. "Is that a new suit? You look good."

"Thank you," Tezuka said. "But my looking nice in a suit I've had for a while doesn't explain anything."

Atobe sighed. "Well, you and I were the only ones that can speak Portuguese, and Sanada's helpless in situations like this. Socializing with people once in a while won't kill you. And might I remind you that you were supposed to come to work anyway."

"I thought ore-sama could do _everything_."

Atobe looked like Tezuka had socked him good and hard in the stomach. And for a moment there, Tezuka almost wished he had. He left without another word.

-

Saeki-sama only came for one thing, he would never stay long after, yet he'd always come bearing some expensive little trinket. Fuji liked him well enough. But he always stayed still, beneath the covers, pretending to be asleep when Saeki dressed and let himself out.

Saeki-sama's gift to him this time was a bracelet made out of 'real' gold from Thailand. Which made Fuji wonder how many of the trinkets that he had bought before were 'fake' gold from Thailand.

The door clicked shut after Saeki and Fuji groaned slightly as he sat up wrapped in stained sheets and blankets. His body was sated, and his body smelled distinctly of Saeki, who was fond of ginger and vanilla.

He found his phone.

He had no messages, no missed calls.

Fuji realized that he wanted Tezuka. Fuji always got whatever he wanted, and whoever he wanted into bed with him. Yet he had a feeling that winning Tezuka over would be harder than it looked.

Fuji put the phone back down beside him on the pillow, and closed his eyes.

He dozed lightly, half-conscious until he heard a knock on the door.

"Fuji."

Almost everyone called him Syusuke, affectionately, except for Ryuzaki Sumire, and...Tezuka. Fuji almost got his hopes up but then realized that the voice was too deep. Oh, right, Oshitari called him Fuji too. He buried himself deeper in the sheets and inhaled vanilla, ginger and then some.

"Fuji." The voice said.

"The door's unlocked."

The door opened and shut. Fuji heard footsteps and stayed still.

Oshitari Yuushi said, "Fuji, do you want a bath?"

"No, I want to sleep." But still, Fuji rubbed his eyes and sat up. He was naked, but he didn't feel bad. It wasn't the first time that Oshitari had seen him naked, and it wasn't going to be the last time, either.

Oshitari was tall, and when he wore his glasses, Fuji thought he looked like Tezuka. The man wore a simple kimono, and his dark hair was artfully tousled, Oshitari, unlike the child Yukimura, gave off the air that he knew things. Fuji considered himself somewhere between the two extremes.

Oshitari did not have glasses on now. "Fuji, what's wrong?" He approached the bed.

"Nothing is wrong."

"You look pale."

"...Okay, maybe I'm a little sore."

It was a look of pity that Oshitari gave him, and Fuji was too tired to fight him for it. Oshitari picked him up with little effort and walked to the bathroom, where he set Fuji into the glistening tub and turned on the water.

The water was warm, making him shiver all over.

Oshitari took a linen cloth hanging next to a fresh towel and turned a critical eye on Fuji's collection of body lotions settled along one wall. After some thought, he selected one and squeezed a generous amount into the cloth. Fuji watched him from the tub.

The water was up to his chest now, and the steam made his vision slightly foggy. After a moment or two more, Fuji reached to turn off the water.

When Oshitari neared, the cloth smelled of raspberry and honey. That had never been one of his favorite scents, but it was strong, and he didn't want to smell ginger and vanilla. Not when the only person he could think about was Tezuka.

The other man knelt down by the tub, and gave him a look.

Fuji forced a smile on his face, "I'm fine, trust me. Nothing sleep can't fix." And he planned on sleep, lots of it, for a long time.

This seemed to assure Oshitari, who smiled and began to lather lotion all over Fuji's body with the cloth. Fuji leaned against the side of the tub and closed his eyes. He and Oshitari never spoke much, never would, probably because Fuji hated when Oshitari knew exactly what he was thinking.

-

When his naked body hit clean sheets, Fuji opened his eyes abruptly, knowing that he had probably fallen asleep. He opened his eyes to see Oshitari staring down at him.

With practiced fingers, he slid the kimono off of Oshitari's body, and the man let him.

"Stay with me." He murmured into a warm bare chest.

Oshitari settled himself beside Fuji on the bed, wrapped his arms loosely around the boy, breathed in a fresh scent of sharp raspberry and honey...and almost sneezed.

"You will, won't you?"

Whenever Fuji wanted to be held, something was wrong. When he even took Oshitari's kimono off for him, he knew something was wrong. In time Fuji, being the little boy that he was, would always tell him. So he settled for waiting.

"I'll stay until you fall asleep. So go to sleep."

"Promise?"

"Promise." For one who never kept promises, Fuji always did like to make him promise, and because Oshitari loved Fuji after his own strange fashion he indulged the boy.

Though Fuji said nothing after that, he did snuggle a little bit closer , and soon his breathing grew even. It took Oshitari a long time to unwind himself from the boy's grip without waking him, but when he did, Fuji stayed asleep. The boy took too many clients; he hardly had time to sleep. Fuji most likely spent more time naked than clothed. In a world like this, it was something to be proud of.

Oshitari put on his kimono, lacing it loosely. He was about to dim the lamp by Fuji's bed when Fuji's phone rang.

Fuji's phone never rang. This was because, to Oshitari's knowledge, no one knew Fuji's number, and even if they did have his number, you needed nerves of iron to call.

The screen announced: _Tezuka Kunimitsu, 5:35 pm._

After a moment of thought, Oshitari realized that he did not know a Tezuka Kunimitsu, and he knew all of Fuji's clients; in fact, he knew a lot of about Fuji, probably more than the boy would have liked him to know.

Oshitari weighed the phone in his hand, looking at the blinking screen and the strange name. And then he smiled and returned the phone to its proper place on the dresser before he let himself out.


	7. Chapter VII

_**A/N:**_ A quicker update than the last one, hopefully to make up for the last one hehe. Thanks for all the reviews, I'm glad to see people are enjoying this, makes me warm and fuzzy inside. :). Mucho thanks to **hakkaisensei **for taking time to beta-read.

_**Shameless Plug:**_ Go read my Saiyuki fanfic or die -stabs with pen- Nah, just kidding, but do go check it out, onegaishimasu.

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**VII**

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* * *

Tezuka hung up the phone.

It took him a full five minutes to convince himself that he wasn't disappointed this time; he was allowed to be a little disconcerted, wasn't he? But he wasn't disappointed, he wasn't.

He was just...

Tezuka's head snapped around when his phone went off again, but his hopeful glance soon became a glare.

He snapped open the phone, and answered for the second time without a greeting, "What do you want?"

There was a rather annoyed sigh at his greeting. "Just what did I do that made you so angry?" Obviously, Atobe didn't know how to deal with people angry at him. He only knew how to be worshipped. Tezuka pitied him for it.

"You didn't do anything."

"Then would you please stop being mad and be reasonable for once?" Atobe's voice took on a whining edge; at twenty-seven, he could still whine. Probably because he grew up doing nothing but whine. He did not know how to function when people disliked him, were angry with him. It was a given that everyone was expected to abide by Atobe Keigo's rules and see Atobe Keigo as God.

The fact that Tezuka didn't seem to want to do either must have alarmed Atobe.

"_Tezuka_..."

"What?" His tone was sharper than he meant it to be, and Tezuka didn't bother correcting himself. "If you don't want anything, I'm hanging up."

"Tezuka...don't do this to me." Finally, Atobe sighed again; this sigh was a resigned one. "If you're really so pissed, let's go out and have a nice dinner, and I'll make everything up to you, I promise. Just don't be like this, you're pissing me off."

"For one who's so eager to make amends, you're going about it in a very bad way." Tezuka said, "I"m hanging up."

"May I pick you up in an hour?"

Even if he was a bit peeved at Atobe for reasons that were perfectly reasonable in his mind, Tezuka knew he would be a fool to turn down dinner with Atobe; even if the other man was a complete idiot, he was a generous idiot.

"All right."

Atobe immediately brightened, "Do you want to go anywhere in particular? Or shall I pick?"

"You can pick." For one that practically lived on frozen dinners, Tezuka ate anything.

"Okay, well then...dress nice. Not nice nice, like work, but somewhere in between? Ore-sama will see you in an hour." It was phrased like an order. There was a final click. It seemed that Tezuka never said hello and to retaliate, Atobe never said good-bye.

Tezuka stared at his phone, as if by sheer will, the right person would call.

Five minutes passed. Tezuka gave up and went to take a shower. A cold one this time.

-

It seemed that every part of his body bruised and ached, although Fuji knew it could have been a thousand times worse. He was alone in bed. Oshitari had promised to stay until he fell asleep. Oshitari had probably done just that; it was foolish of Fuji to expect him to do anything more.

But his phone was right where he left it, right there on the pillow.

_1 missed call._

_Tezuka Kunimitsu, 5:35 pm._

Fuji smiled, and kissed the flickering screen before he pressed call.

-

Atobe ended up taking him to a very upscale seafood joint that had just opened and attracted the 'right crowd' as Atobe fondly said. It wouldn't hurt at all for Tezuka to mingle with the 'right crowd,' as opposed to not mingling at all.

Outside of the business scene, Atobe Keigo was a regular vixen. Tezuka surmised that the other man must be a frequent patron, because every waitress that passed by their table (conveniently in the middle of all the chaos) received a kiss on the cheek or the hand from Atobe.

Tezuka wondered if Atobe's lips ever got numb. Tezuka's own lips were still numb from the kiss Fuji had given him earlier.

Looking across the table to his companion, Tezuka realized that Atobe wore earrings; he had gotten so used to seeing Atobe in a professional light that he had forgotten that once the other got out of the business scene he was always trying too hard to have fun. The studs in his ears glinted sinisterly and they looked real. They probably were, knowing Atobe.

Tezuka was about to say something derogatory when his phone buzzed. Usually, he refrained from saying things of a derogatory nature but for Atobe, like Fuji, he made exceptions.

_Fuji Syusuke, 7:48 pm_

He looked at Atobe, the phone still vibrating gently in his hand. Atobe looked to be in the middle of an intense flirting session with a waitress in a shamelessly short skirt; her legs were long though, so there wasn't anything to be ashamed of.

Tezuka got up and left the table. Atobe did not seem to notice.

He walked out the door; unlike the interior of the restaurant, the outside was quiet. A little cold, but quiet. Tezuka flipped open his phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Tezuka-sama." Fuji's voice was light as always. "Sorry for not picking up earlier, I was asleep."

Fuji was with a client, Fuji was asleep. Both were viable excuses, though neither explained why Tezuka was suddenly struck with a sense of...jealousy?--of sleep and men he would probably never know. He looked up, the sky seemed somber.

"It's all right, sleep is good for you."

The boy laughed; even though Fuji was laughing at him, Tezuka found that he did not mind. "It feels funny hearing that from you."

Tezuka said, "Why?"

"You don't sleep much, yet you want me to sleep. You don't eat much, although you buy me breakfast. You don't smile at all, but you always want me to smile for you."

It had been only days. Yet Fuji was using 'always' with frightening regularity. What was even more frightening was that Tezuka wanted to believe him.

"I can't help it. It's easier to have you do everything."

"Tezuka-sama is lazy." The laugh that reached his ears was one with a teasing edge.

"No, I'm not."

"Sure you are." Fuji said, "You're too lazy to do anything remotely fun."

Tezuka said nothing. Then, "...I had fun with you this morning. Am I still lazy?"

There was a pause, "Not really. But that was just this morning. When was the last time you had fun, not counting this morning?"

Now, that question required some thought. Tezuka thought for a moment, and shrugged, "I don't know, I took a week off after graduation. I went to Spain with Atobe; we got mugged on the first day." And that was all he remembered.

"Did you have to share a hotel room?" Fuji asked.

Tezuka blanched, but only for a minute; this was Fuji. He had to remember who he was talking to. "We had a suite with two rooms in Madrid, I remember it being nice."

"Ah." Fuji was smiling, Tezuka closed his eyes and saw him smile, "...Right, you're a virgin, I forget."

"I wish you wouldn't bring that up." And Tezuka really wished the boy didn't, it made everything awkward.

"Sorry." The boy promptly sounded sorry, but Tezuka had no way to measure whether or not Fuji meant it. "But still, Tezuka-sama, I suppose you got robbed because it's Atobe-sama's way to be an exhibitionist. Was he angry when you got mugged?"

"What would you think?"

"No." Fuji's reply held no hesitation. "You though, Tezuka-sama, were you angry?"

"I was incensed. I didn't speak to him for two whole days," Tezuka said, being completely honest.

Fuji laughed out loud. "Did you yell and scream at him?"

"Yes, for five minutes, and then I stopped talking."

"I think I would like to get Tezuka-sama angry once."

That surprised him. "Why?"

"Because..." Fuji trailed off. "You're not so careful when you're angry. You're too careful. I want to see the side of you that allows you to scream and yell. I can't imagine Tezuka-sama yelling and screaming."

Tezuka said nothing.

"Tezuka-sama, do you like white?"

He blinked.

"Pardon?"

"Do you like white?"

"I..." Tezuka closed his eyes and he saw Fuji in white. Fuji had worn black once, but when Tezuka closed his eyes, he would always see the boy in white, just like a little angel. "I suppose, I never think about…colors."

"Oh." Fuji's voice was oddly flat.

Tezuka immediately wished he had said yes, instead, but then, Fuji had said it himself. Tezuka Kunimitsu didn't have what it took to lie.

"What does Tezuka-sama like, then? It doesn't seem like you like anything."

"...Does it really seem that way?"

"Yes, to me." Fuji sounded quite serious. Tezuka heard no laugh this time, and even the image in his head, Fuji had a subtle frown. He didn't like having Fuji frown. In his mind, Fuji always smiled. Tezuka realized then that the boy had a point; he disliked plenty of things, but he never professed to liking anything.

"I enjoy your company." He said truthfully. It wasn't a lie, Fuji made Tezuka feel a million years older than he really was, but the boy was also a proverbial breath of fresh air for him, and he enjoyed it.

"Of course you'd say that." If it was possible, Fuji's voice had just gotten flatter.

Tezuka was alarmed; his base instincts told him that he had upset the boy. His base instincts also told him to fix it, but it was difficult to fix things if he didn't know how they were broken.

"No, Fuji, I meant it. Really."

The silence told him that Fuji was still not convinced.

"You said it yourself, I can't lie. And I'm not going to start."

"But I can lie, Tezuka-sama. And I lied to you. You can tell a proper lie. You lie to protect people. You don't have to force yourself to say things." The boy's voice was suddenly chilly, cold.

"Fuji--"

"Good bye, Tezuka-sama."

There was a dull click. Tezuka stared at his phone.

"Tezuka, the food is getting cold. If you're finished, you should come and eat."

Atobe's voice. Which probably meant that Atobe's body was somewhere nearby as well. Tezuka turned to face the other man, wanting to ask how long Atobe had been standing there, but he didn't dare, because the answer wasn't something he wanted to hear.

"Tezuka?"

"Ah, I'm coming."

-

Fuji was angry. That in itself wasn't so unusual; when riled, it was well known that the boy had a temper. It was why he was angry...

Of course he had all the reasons in the world to be angry.

So it wasn't a crime to want to hear Tezuka say it. That he liked him. He didn't even need to hear that Tezuka...loved him. He wanted to hear a simple like. Yet Tezuka seemed to refuse anything simple. The simple kiss had sent the man reeling. Those simple questions that were meant to be coy, it all came to nothing.

Perhaps he was angry because his pride was hurt. Clients, no matter who they were, they bowed down before the boy Fuji Syusuke. He sat utterly untouchable on his throne of praise and adoration. He hated to admit it, but in that respect, he was exactly like Atobe Keigo. Perhaps even worse.

Fuji shuddered to think that he was worse than Atobe Keigo, in any respect.

Still, he was angry—incensed. Fuji had never used that word before, but Tezuka had used it.

He had wanted something so simple. And it was stupid of Tezuka not to give it to him. No wonder the man has been a virgin so long. Fuji pitied him for it; it seemed that Tezuka was really too wound up and losing his virginity would do him nothing but good.

Fuji sighed as he replaced the phone on top of the dresser and lay back down on the bed. The sheets were clean, yet he didn't remember anyone coming in to change them.

In the end, Tezuka hadn't answered either, about whether or not he liked white. It was a simple question.

Fuji had on a white kimono now, embroidered with light blue doves, he tore it off, incensed, and lay there naked. He even heard fabric rip. Which was just as well, he had never liked the kimono anyway, the blue doves were gaudy.

His own hands trailed down his own body with obvious familiarity, brushing by all the right places to draw moans from his lips.

"Oh..."

_The hands were clumsy, but warm. The hands were a little rough but that was all right, Tezuka had never done this before, but Fuji made sure to moan just so, letting the sighs and the groans guide the man above him._

"_Tezuka-sama, I love you."_

_There was no reply, only heavy breathing. The hand trailed hesitantly between his legs. Fuji's breathing hitched. The hand stopped._

"_Tezuka-sama, I want you."_

_It hurt, Fuji hadn't remembered how much it could hurt._

_He cried out and warm lips covered his, sucking relentlessly at his mouth, until his moans of pain gave away to ones of pure, ravaging pleasure._

"_I love you..."_

"Syusuke!"

Fuji's eyes flew open. There was a figure standing in his doorway, in his clouded euphoria he didn't remember unlocking his door.

"Tezu--" His eyes cleared and he hastily corrected himself, "...Shiraishi-sama?"

Shiraishi Kuranosuke closed the door quietly behind him, and turned the lock.

Fuji Syusuke lay naked, alone on the bed, with a rosy tinge about his cheeks. There was an intoxicating glaze over the cerulean eyes.

Shiraishi felt himself smile.

"You couldn't have waited for me, Syusuke?" Shiraishi's tone was reproving.

The smile was always helplessly bewitching. Fuji made sure of it. Fuji took Shirashi's wrist as the man neared the bed. He guided the man's hand between his legs and rested the cool fingers against his thigh.

"Here." The boy looked at him, "Help me."

Shirashi's hands were not clumsy at all.


	8. Chapter VIII

**A/N:** Hello and welcome back! Thanks for everyone's reviews in the past chapter, I'm really happy that people seem to be enjoying this. Hope you have a good read this chapter too. I'm like sooo close to 100! Hugs and cookies to the ever patient **hakkaisensei **for beta-reading. You're the best! -hearts hearts-

**Bunny Poll: **A bunch of really random plot bunnies came to me the other day and now I'm having trouble deciding which to write first, so please participate in the Bunny Poll to help me decide. Thankies!

**Cipher: **If anyone hasn't read Cipher yet, please do so! It's my latest brainchild and I'm quite proud of it.

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**VII**

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The food was always extravagant when dining with Atobe Keigo; even as a casual guest, lavishness was the norm. As he always did, Tezuka ate sparingly, even knowing that these meals of such exquisite caliber were few and far between.

"...Tezuka, are you all right?" Atobe asked tentatively, after a few moments.

"I'm fine."

"Food not to your liking?"

"The food is fine."

Atobe frowned. Even if Tezuka Kunimitsu did define careful to extremes sometimes incomprehensible to the normal human mind, this time was different. Atobe always trusted his instincts.

"I'm glad. Why aren't you eating, then?"

Tezuka sipped slowly at his cocktail and didn't say anything.

"Look...you're killing the mood; at the very least, you could tell me what's wrong." Atobe shook his head; he was a brilliant host, all things considered, but Tezuka always liked making things so difficult. Atobe blamed it on Tezuka's inhumane work ethic.

And then he paused.

"Who called you?"

Tezuka paused. "No one," he said curtly.

Atobe pressed his luck, and usually he got lucky. "Liar. It has to be someone, you're upset."

The other man bit his lip. "I could still be angry at you."

"Nice try," Atobe smirked. "But no, you're not."

Tezuka let out a resigned sigh. Atobe Keigo was too accomplished a liar. "What's Fuji's favorite color?"

Atobe stopped. "Fuji?"

"Yes, Fuji." There was a faintly wan smirk on Tezuka's face; it was there for a half second, and then it was gone. "I hear you gave him a very interesting present on his twelfth birthday."

Atobe found himself smirking. This was a subject he knew well; he just never would have expected Tezuka to initiate a conversation like this, not that Atobe was complaining. "I'm guilty. Are you jealous?"

"Of you?" Tezuka's voice had a disbelieving edge to it.

"Of me. Yes." Atobe took a sip of his own cocktail, "After all, I was his first."

"I'm not like you, Atobe."

Atobe shook his head. "Oh, but you are. We're more alike than you think."

The inference that he might be similar to Atobe in any respect alarmed Tezuka. But he took a small bite of fried scallop to keep from replying. Atobe's perpetual need to have an annoying smirk on his face was really starting to get to him.

"Will you tell me his favorite color now?" He asked blandly.

"Yeah, it's white." Atobe shrugged, "But let's talk about something else, the fact that Fuji likes white isn't terribly interesting." He switched subjects. "How did you know that I was his first? Did he tell you?"

Tezuka didn't want to talk about it. But he just nodded.

Atobe laughed. "I bet he just did it to make you jealous. He's a conniving little slut. You'll learn that, Tezuka. But he's good for you if you want to lose your virginity. I bet he's angry that you refused to sleep with him on the first night. He hates being rejected, it hurts his pride."

He hated Atobe's smirk, more than anything at the moment. Tezuka could not figure out which of his companion's comments were more degrading. So far, it was a tie between Fuji being a slut, and the fact that the boy wanted nothing more than his virginity. "Don't say that."

"...It's true." Atobe shrugged, and his smirk was mocking. "I've known Fuji a long time, Tezuka."

"You have a talent for making people sound depraved." A waitress came by to refill Tezuka's cocktail glass, this time, with a lime-green liquid. He took a sip; it was distinctly bitter and matched his mood.

"So? That's not a bad talent to have. It's practical, you know." Atobe always had to have an excuse for everything. That was practical too, probably. "Besides, it's true. Fuji is not like you. The boy is what he is for a reason."

Tezuka bit his tongue. "Let's not talk about this."

Atobe noted the change in Tezuka's voice and did a smart thing. He stopped and changed the subject to stocks, his latest spat with his fiancée, and amused Tezuka about mothballs and pink lingerie for the next hour.

Tezuka understood why Atobe never wanted to marry.

-

Shiraishi doted on him, Fuji knew that, but this was the first time that such knowledge pained him. He sat naked in front of his vanity table and Shiraishi combed his hair. His chest was sprinkled with faint marks that seemed to just blend into his perfectly flawless skin, like young virgin blossoms, and despite himself, he found them (the marks) wholly becoming.

He looked at Shiraishi through the glass; the man too was at ease just wearing a shirt with no buttons done. He was sifting his fingers idly through Fuji's hair when he saw him looking.

"Syusuke, I love you. You are beautiful this morning."

It was not the first time that Shiraishi had told him that he loved him, and while Fuji believed that the man meant it entirely, this was the one time he wondered if the man understood his own feelings. He only smiled at the man in the mirror. "Aren't I always beautiful?"

Shiraishi laughed. "Of course you are. I get the feeling you don't hear it enough times."

Fuji did not laugh. He couldn't manage to, only the smile stayed, and even that was with effort. He looked away from Shiraishi to his wrist; he was wearing Saeki's real gold bracelet, although it was too loose on his wrist, so he improvised with a bit of silk ribbon and now it fit just right.

"Shiraishi-sama, how do you know you love me?"

The man paused. "I think about you, sometimes, so much so that I can't sleep. And when I'm with you, I'm happier than I've ever been, Syusuke."

"Do I really make you so happy?" Fuji wondered aloud.

It was a mystery to him, how a single person could make another person so deliriously happy. Fuji himself had never experienced this type of happiness, or, if he had, he had completely forgotten how it felt.

"Yes." There were cool lips on his bare shoulder. "What bothers me is that I never seem to make you happy. What makes you happy? Will you tell me?"

Suddenly, it felt strange to be naked in front of Shiraishi and Fuji stood up to put on a new kimono, a black one for a change; he was definitely in the mood for it.

"I don't know." Fuji said, facing his closet, because the kimonos lined up against the wall had no eyes and couldn't see him frown. "If I think of something, I'll tell you." He paused and turned. "But I wish you wouldn't love me."

Fuji thought he heard something shatter.

"Why?"

"I don't like it." He hadn't planned to say it, but it slipped out of his mouth with little effort. Fuji bent and picked up the torn white kimono on the floor and folded it carefully. "You can't just say something like that, when you don't mean it."

The man looked at him. Shiraishi Kuranosuke professed to be an honest man on many occasions, but he had said that he loved him too many times, over the most trivial little things. It seemed ridiculous to Fuji. "How do you know I don't mean it?" His voice was even.

"Because..." Fuji bit his lip, "I know. That, and it's totally ridiculous for you to love me."

"Why?" Shiraishi wore cheap cologne, probably because he was not a wealthy man. The smell was strong.

"It's very hard to love a person who has no feelings for you." Fuji smiled. "Trust me."

Shiraishi said nothing, he only stepped closer and enfolded the boy within his arms.

"You've never minded when I said it before, Syusuke."

Now that Fuji thought about it, he realized that Tezuka had never held him. He breathed in cologne again. "But it's different now, the rules have changed. If you mean it, it's more reason for you to stop. I don't intend to return your feelings, and I won't try either. If you can love me even after that..."

Shiraishi held him tighter. "I'll make you love me, Syusuke."

Fuji pulled back and smiled. "It's impossible."

The kiss on his lips was a gentle one. "Don't be so sure."

-

Tezuka made green tea with no sugar and settled at his desk to pull an all-nighter. An all-nighter was something familiar, and after breakfast with Fuji, and dinner with Atobe, Tezuka longed for something familiar and uncomplicated.

He tuned the radio to an English news station. Portuguese had been a strange language; he was fluent enough in it, but still, it wasn't something he listened to comfortably.

His phone was nearby, not because he was expecting any calls, but because it was familiar.

-

The next day at the office, Tezuka surprised no one by showing up at his private office on the tenth floor at seven o' clock, sharp.

His secretary was a homely girl named Yukari and she always made an effort to be early. She made him strong coffee with plenty of cream but no sugar at seven-thirty. She was not considered beautiful because it seemed that Atobe screened his secretaries and handpicked ones that he thought were plain. So that Tezuka didn't get 'distracted'.

Atobe himself got distracted plenty. Atobe's secretaries always spoke Japanese with a European lilt and put on too much lipstick. Yet even with that, Atobe still found time to romance an underage lover at a brothel.

Atobe Keigo was that fearsome. Even Tezuka realized that he did admire the other man for all reasons immoral.

"Tezuka-san."

He looked up abruptly.

Yukari was standing in the doorway. "...Sanada-san wants to know if you have a moment."

Tezuka thought for a moment and then nodded. "All right, tell him to come in."

Sanada Genichirou was thirty, and Tezuka can't remember seeing the other man in anything but a suit and tie. Today's suit was dark gray, and today's tie was burgundy. For a man so austere and so ignorant of modern fads, he had unexpectedly good taste in clothing. Or perhaps someone prepared his clothes for him. Sanada had a wife, but she seemed just as colorless.

As for Tezuka, he didn't deny that he was austere too, but being in Atobe's inner circle meant that he knew things like this. He just had enough common sense not to participate.

"Sanada, go ahead and have a seat."

The other man did with a nod of greeting. Sanada did not have an Italian upholstered office on the tenth floor, he was only a second level partner, and worked on the sixth floor in the only personal office around the corner. Consequently, everyone behaved on the sixth floor. Atobe had offered him a first level partner position many times and Sanada was a smart man to refuse him.

But then, Sanada had always been wealthy. Tezuka had not.

"Tezuka, you look like you haven't been sleeping."

Tezuka found the comment amusing. Even though Sanada didn't look the part at all, he was the type to be a mother hen. "Am I really that transparent now? I didn't sleep in college at all, and you never did catch me, except a few times."

"But that was back then, you were young," Sanada told him. "You're not so much anymore."

Sanada would know something about getting old, probably. But if Tezuka had his fair say in things, his colleague knew too much. The three of them had too much of a history together, and Atobe and Sanada knew more about him than Tezuka liked them knowing. They had all studied at Columbia and shared an apartment, but still, the differences between them had been enormous.

Sanada had the habit of going to bed around midnight every night; he was good with time, and always finished his studies before then. On the other hand, Atobe threw party after party in the living room. Atobe didn't sleep much either, but Atobe, as only Atobe could, stayed on top of his classes while sleeping in class. He had probably slept with the professors too.

As for Tezuka, he had kept two night jobs and wrote his thesis while tending bar, and he kept up an impressive record of six cups of coffee a day and only slept all day Sunday. Somehow, it didn't seem fair.

Tezuka looked at the other man and shrugged. "It's a little odd hearing that from you. Now, I mean."

"Is it? Well, I'm not your senpai anymore. So maybe that's why." Sanada gave a vague smile, and laid a thick file on his desk. "Would you look this over? Atobe said his calendar was full."

Tezuka gave a rare half-smirk. "I'm sure it is." He took the file. "I'll have this for you in three days."

"Three days is fine, you can take your time with it." Sanada sighed. "But if I give Atobe the file, he'll drag it out for a month, and that's something I don't want."

Tezuka agreed. "Well, it's lunch now, so I have time."

"That's just like you, wanting to get everything done at once." It was a compliment, and to draw a compliment out of Sanada was hard to do. "Join me for lunch; we'll eat something not so expensive without Atobe."

That idea sounded welcome, especially the 'without Atobe' part. Tezuka nodded, "Sure." He stood.

"Ah, Tezuka, your phone..."

His phone was beeping; it had probably been beeping for a very long time. He held it up and paled at the name.

_Fuji Syusuke, 1:25 pm._

He pocketed the phone and picked up his jacket. "Let's go."

Sanada fell into step beside him. "Who was it?"

Tezuka thought for a minute. "No one important, don't worry about it."


	9. Chapter IX

**A/N: **Hi everyone, I'm sorry for the late update, things have been hectic around here lately and real life has taken the front seat once again. I hope everyone is, unlike me, enjoying the last stretch of summer. This chapter is something of a filler, but I think it'd become important later on. Much love to my many reviewers! I passed 100!! Do you know how happy that makes me?? And of course, hugs to **hakkaisensei **for beta-reading, as always. I love you all! Have a good read.

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**IX**

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Echizen Ryoma was something of a wonder, even though Fuji would never fully grasp that wonder. Anyone who dared to have Atobe Keigo call him lover was someone to be feared. The boy had opened the door wearing only a towel, and his olive locks were damp.

"Fuji-niisan." Ryoma was surprised, and then not; he opened the door wider. "Come in, I just got out of the shower, hope you don't mind."

"I don't." Fuji smiled as he stepped in. "But then, let me remind you that I'm not Atobe-sama, so you don't have to try so hard." He closed the door and sat on the couch. The leather smelled fresh.

Ryoma smirked, a catlike smirk that said he knew very well that he was all things "You're not Keigo, that's precisely why you shouldn't worry so much."

Keigo. Fuji pulled his knees up to his chest and watched the boy get dressed. He had the feeling that not many people were allowed to address the country's biggest business tycoon (or God) so casually. Ryoma had every right to be proud.

"So..." The boy's white back was clothed with dark blue silk, "What do you want?"

"I can't come because I want to see you?" Fuji pretended innocence.

"You're Fuji-niisan, you always want something." But Ryoma shrugged; he was used to this already. "You want some tea?"

"No thanks."

"Okay, fine." The boy took a seat next to him. "What then?"

Fuji sighed; he had replayed his request out a million times, and in the end... "Has Atobe-sama been in, lately?" he began rather lamely.

"Oh, that." Ryoma crossed his ankles and looked up at the ceiling. "He came yesterday, but things are busy so I don't know whether or not he's coming again any time soon. Why do you ask? Don't you hate him?"

Ryoma was jealous, and for that, Fuji laughed at him. "I hate him, don't worry. I wouldn't steal Atobe-sama from you. I thought you knew me."

"I do know you, but that also means that I know you like to change your mind about things."

"Brat." But Fuji said it smiling.

"Mada mada dane." Ryoma rolled his eyes. "So…what is this about Keigo?"

"Do you remember, sometime ago, when he brought along a friend named Tezuka? Did he say anything about Tezuka-sama when he was with you?"

Fuji held his breath waiting for the answer. It had been more than a week (ten days exactly), since he and Tezuka had last spoken, and even then, they had parted on a sour note. He had called the man five or six times since then, but Tezuka hadn't picked up, and neither had the man returned his calls.

"Oh. That." Ryoma was relieved; he recrossed his ankles again, "...He said he just brought someone that he thought needed a good lay, that's all. I think it's someone from work."

"Yeah."

"That's the trouble with Keigo. He brings too many people that don't belong here. I mean, he got lucky with Yukimura and Sanada-sama, but...Keigo's not going to get lucky every time."

Atobe needed to teach his boy a good lesson, Fuji mused, watching the olive eyes laugh at him while those tantalizing lips smirked. Ryoma was really getting too cheeky for his own good.

"Do something for me; pass on a message to Atobe-sama." Fuji stood up to leave.

"Sure, what?" Karupin, Ryoma's cat, appeared out of nowhere and Ryoma scooped it up. The cat was a purebred, expensive as hell, as any other present from Atobe had to be.

Fuji said, "Tell him, when he comes next, that I'd like to see Tezuka-sama again. That's all." He let himself out.

-

Tezuka's life was back to normal. It was normal in the sense that he went to bed late, went to work early, did more than his fair share of work and consistently refused to drink with Atobe. There was no more mention of the brothel, and there was no more Fuji. His life was back to normal.

He liked his life normal, everything was orderly, predictable, and organized; absolutely nothing went wrong.

But he went back to not sleeping, and once in a while his phone would beep.

"_...Tezuka-sama, it's me again." _

Tezuka put his pen down and looked at the phone.

"_I know you're really busy right now, probably, but I'd like to see you. That's all."_

Tezuka didn't want to speak to Fuji, nor did he want to see the boy; the boy was full of all things too much for Tezuka. He could never handle Fuji. But even saying that much, Tezuka never did find the courage to pick up the phone and tell him not to call again.

For in truth, he liked hearing Fuji's voice. He liked it too much. When the message ended, Tezuka clicked 'call' again.

The message dutifully replayed itself.

"_...Tezuka-sama, it's me again. I know you're really busy right now, but I'd like to see you, that's all." _

-

"You're late."

Atobe smirked down at Ryoma, who blocked the doorway. It had been a week and a half since his last visit, and he was happy that the boy seemed annoyed to see him. It only meant that Ryoma had missed him.

"Sorry, I had a late dinner," Atobe shrugged. "Still, I came, yes? So be grateful."

The boy shook his head. "Che." Ryoma stepped aside to let the man in. "Did you come alone?"

Atobe was surprised, "Yes, I did."

"Oh."

Something was off. Atobe stepped inside the room and locked the door behind him. "Are you disappointed?"

"No." On his way to the couch, Ryoma scooped up Karupin and nuzzled the cat; if the boy was half as affectionate to him as he was to that damned cat, all Ryoma had to do was ask for the world and Atobe would have made sure that he got it.

Atobe himself sat on the couch, and watched the cat and the boy. After a few moments, Ryoma let Karupin go and sat on Atobe's lap with little hesitation.

Ryoma smelled fresh from a shower, the faint fragrance of honey lotion still clinging to the boy's skin. Atobe put his lips to the boy's neck and inhaled deeply.

"Did you miss me?"

Atobe felt the boy tense, and smirked. He moved down a few inches and slid the kimono off of the boy's shoulders. He was surprised, and then not, when Ryoma didn't fight him. The boy always put up a good fight, making Atobe work for what he wanted. Which was fine with him; Atobe didn't mind working.

He tipped the boy's chin back to kiss him and Ryoma let him.

Ryoma's eyes were glazed over. Atobe merely smiled down at him. Not a smirk, but a smile. It seemed improper for him to smirk like that when his Ryoma was being so willing.

"I have presents for you."

A small hand caught his own, and Ryoma shook his head. "You can give them to me later."

-

Later.

Ryoma's kimono was dirty, so he wore Atobe's dress shirt, which still smelled like French cologne, the scent of sweat not having tainted it at all. He sniffed gingerly and thought it clashed with his lotion. He returned to the couch and put down a tray of green tea with honey. It wasn't something he was particularly fond of but he was playing host, and his guest, who was always hard to please, wanted green tea with honey.

"Here you go."

He stood off to one side as Atobe uncurled himself from the couch. The man was completely at home in just a pair of boxers. He tasted the tea and winced.

"Why did you make it so sweet?"

Ryoma rolled his eyes. "It was all right when I tasted it."

"Well, your palate is nowhere as refined," Atobe glared at him. "- brat." But then Atobe smiled.

Brat. It was an insult that was so commonplace for Ryoma that it no longer stung. But now that he thought about it. He didn't know if Atobe had picked up the habit from Fuji or vice versa.

Even the possibility of Fuji-niisan having anything to do with Atobe, was unsettling to Ryoma. He shrugged, "You don't like it, fix it yourself."

There was a pause. Too long a pause. Atobe spoke, cutting through the silence.

"Ryoma."

"What?"

"Sit down." Atobe patted the spare leather cushion next to him.

Ryoma prided himself in knowing all of Atobe's tones, whether he was angry, pleased, horny even. This...wasn't anything.

"Ryoma, sit."

The boy did, gingerly. When one didn't know how to expect, Ryoma's base instincts always told him to expect the worst.

Instead, Atobe just pulled him close and kissed him for a long time. A very long time.

Then Atobe pulled away and smirked at him. "Being jealous doesn't suit you."

Ryoma opened his mouth and then closed it. He couldn't even muster a glare or a smirk of his own; he was too relieved.

Even that stupid curling thing that Atobe liked to do with his hair, that was comforting. Ryoma laid his head on the man's shoulder.

"And if you wanted to be jealous, pick a better person. Don't pick Fuji."

There was another long silence, Atobe had seen through him like usual. Arguing was futile, but Ryoma knew he couldn't give in that easily. He bit his lip. "I'm not jealous."

Atobe didn't say anything.

Ryoma shifted just slightly. "I was um...I actually was supposed to pass on a message from Fuji-niisan to you."

"Is it a nice message? If it's him telling me to go jump off a cliff, you can keep it to yourself."

Ryoma chuckled and laid a gentle kiss on the side of Atobe's neck. "Would Fuji-niisan say that? I don't think it's a bad message, if you say it like that. It actually confused me. He said to tell you he wants to see Tezuka-sama again?"

Atobe was surprised. "Tezuka?"

The boy nodded, "Yeah. Tezuka-sama."

-

Oshitari Yuushi was the type of person that adhered to rules that he liked. If you gave him rules that he didn't like, he'd bend the rules backwards until he liked them. But the trouble with Oshitari was that you had to offer him precise directions. If you left everything up to interpretation, more often than not, you would be disappointed.

"_Be here when I wake up." _

So when Fuji opened his eyes, Oshitari was there, staring down at him with an expression that Fuji hated; it was a cross between pity and concern, with more pity at the moment.

"Good morning, how do you feel?"

"Not good," Fuji replied in all honesty. After Mizuki-sama, he doubted anyone could feel anything but 'not good'. He wanted to throw up again, but he couldn't remember if there was anything left for him to vomit.

"Could I get you anything?"

"I want something hot to drink." Fuji shifted rather painfully on his side, "And...be honest, do I look horrible?"

Oshitari said nothing; he touched the side of Fuji's face, and let his fingers trail down to the boy's jawline. There was a bruise there, and he winced along with Fuji. "I'll get you some tea. You have a few bruises but it's nothing that I can't take care of."

Fuji nodded. "Would you...make it green tea with honey?"

The older man was surprised. "I thought you hated that drink."

"I do," Fuji assured him. "I just heard it would be good for you."

Oshitari let himself smirk. "Where'd you hear that? From Atobe?"

Fuji blanched, but only for half a second, and then his smile was back. "Of course not." He said, lying through his teeth.

Oshitari saw the untruth, but let it go. "Well, fine, whatever. Green tea with honey then. After that, I think you should have another bath, that's good for you too."

"Okay." Fuji wished Oshitari could say things in such a way so that they weren't quite so mocking. He burrowed deeper into the sheets and breathed the scent of clean cotton and herbs.

A knock sounded on the door.

Oshitari asked, "Should I get that?"

It didn't matter to Fuji. "Tell them to go away. I don't want to see anyone."

"All right, I can do that."

But Fuji wasn't surprised when he heard the door creak open, a few muffled words were exchanged and Fuji heard more than one pair of footsteps stop beside his bed. He stayed still, buried in the covers.

Atobe's voice said, "Is he sulking, or is he really sick?"

Oshitari: "...I think it's a little bit of both."

But the thing with Oshitari was that you couldn't count on him to stay loyal. He, like a wild river current, floated to wherever and whoever he wanted to. Fuji vaguely wondered if Echizen Ryoma knew that Atobe had always had a thing for Oshitari and came to him if he was tired of the boy.

Fuji wondered if he should tell Ryoma. It was very tempting.

"...I'm neither. I'm sore and sleepy," he spoke finally, flipping back the covers to reveal a few delicate bruises on his pale chest. "What the hell do you want, Atobe-sama?"

Fuji felt Atobe's eyes ghost his bruises and refused to wince. They didn't hurt, they were just unsightly.

"Who did this?" Atobe wanted to know.

Fuji almost wanted to laugh. Atobe always thought he knew so much, when in reality he really knew almost nothing at all. He shrugged one shoulder. "Mizuki-sama's been doing this for a year and a half now. I'm used to it." He smiled at Atobe. "Don't try to save me."

"But..."

"No. It's not what you think it is anyway. He just got carried away and left a few bruises. They'll be gone by tomorrow." Fuji laughed; it sounded bitter. "Besides, I forgot to lie to him. Mizuki-sama had every right to be angry with me."

Atobe was still confused, and Fuji liked it. Atobe was easier to handle when he was confused. "What do you mean?"

Somehow, Fuji expected it. Ryoma had always been a jealous boy. "Ahh, looks like Ryoma forgot to pass on my message."

A light dawned on Atobe's face, "...Tezuka?"

"Yes, Tezuka-sama." Fuji sat up and Oshitari fixed his pillows. "Have you been keeping him away from me too?"

"Quite the contrary. I actually wish he'd frequent here more often." Atobe shrugged. "Maybe you scared him away. Don't blame me."

"There's no one else to blame."

Atobe said nothing.

Oshitari looked at Fuji.

Fuji smiled; it was a smile of defeat. "I take that back, actually. Forgive me, Atobe-sama. I should be grateful—even flattered, that you came here to see me today. Unfortunately, I'm in no condition to entertain you today; nor am I really in the mood to try. So I'm going to have to ask you to leave."


	10. Chapter X

**A/N: **Haha, so I lied about not updating my other stories with My Brother's Keeper still not done...but that's a good thing, right? (hopeful). This just begged to be written and my muse was kind. Cookies to **hakkaisensei **for being an awesome beta. And thanks for all your support, although the last chapter really wasn't much for TezuFuji.

**Rating**: I'm toying with the idea of moving the rating up to M, it's not concrete yet, as I haven't really written anything, but if anyone vehemently hates the idea, or vehemently loves the idea (if that's even possible?) now is your chance to let me know.

**Bunny Adoption?**: I have had this prompt plague me for like the last five months, I have attempted to write it eight times now, and failed eight times. But it's actually a fairly good bunny (at least I think so) so if anyone wants to take it and make it into an oneshot or something, please do so!! I'll attempt to glomp you in cyberspace, or I'll also write something for you. If anyone's interested, a PM would be nice.

Bunny: (Fantasy, features Atobe x Tezuka x Fuji OT3) In order to get Regent Tezuka into bed, Prince Atobe commissions a lust potion from the Apothecary Fuji. But because Fuji is Fuji, the lust potion turns out conveniently...faulty.

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Cheers!

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**X**

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Tezuka thought it was just like Atobe to saunter into his office without consulting his secretary, sit down, and ask: "When do you have time to go back to the brothel?" It was an abrupt question and it left Tezuka at a loss.

"What do you mean?" He put down his pen.

Atobe shrugged. "What I asked. It's your birthday soon, isn't it?"

Tezuka was suddenly alarmed. His eyes roamed his office, looking everywhere but Atobe and then he settled his focus on a calendar. It was October 6th. He had known that, of course; Tezuka was never the type to lose track of dates. But it rarely registered that his birthday was the following day.

And...

"...Are you angry because I missed your birthday?"

"Maybe I'm a little upset, but no, not angry. I had a nice birthday either way." Atobe shrugged. "Hikari outdid herself this year, I'll give her that."

Maybe it was the way that Atobe said it, but Tezuka looked over to see that Atobe's hands were folded neatly on the desk, and that he wore no ring. He shook his head. "But not enough for you to marry her."

"I can't marry her, you know that just as well as I do." Atobe seemed annoyed that Tezuka even thought to bring up the subject he most despised.

Tezuka let the subject go. If he pressed it further, Atobe would have told him he was too busy to get married; that would have been a lie, or maybe not. Atobe was too busy chasing after little prostitutes in high-caliber brothels to get married and lead a proper life.

He picked up his pen and turned back to his file.

"Your point is?"

"I don't really have a point." Atobe shrugged. "Even ore-sama is entitled to his moments, yes?" He leaned forward, as if sharing a big secret. "...Fuji wants to see you."

Tezuka paused, but before he could give too much away, he resumed writing, on a pad of paper, so it wouldn't mess up the file he was working on. "I know, he called me."

"Oh." Atobe seemed disappointed for a moment. "Well...what did he say?"

It never crossed Tezuka's mind to tell the truth; in short, he told the best lie he'd ever told. "He did and I told him I was busy. I told him I'd drop by if I had time."

Atobe looked surprised at first, but then his smirk found its way back to his face and he studied the man across the desk. "I can't tell if you're lying or not."

"Take a guess, you may get lucky," Tezuka said, pleased in spite of himself.

"If I gave you the day off tomorrow for your birthday so you have time, would you go see him?"

"Why does it matter so much to you whether I see Fuji or not?" Tezuka demanded quietly. "If anything, I'd rather you mind your own business."

"Because." There was an unexpected pause. Tezuka stopped writing.

Atobe looked down at his hands. "Just because, if you don't like him, you should tell him. I think he's fallen in love with you. You're a cruel man, Tezuka, and you know I respect that, but you don't want to just disappoint a boy like that."

Fuji was hardly a boy. He looked like one and smiled like one, yes, but...

Tezuka paused.

"He what?"

Atobe smirked at him; he knew he had Tezuka's attention now. "He's fallen in love with you, Lord knows how you did that. But I'm pretty sure you've done it." He stopped at that point to let it sink in.

This time, there was a long silence. Tezuka felt too much all at once, and it took effort to speak. "He is lying." The words sounded rather--no, very lame.

Atobe gave him a pitying look. "Both you and I know that it's not true."

"Fuji is a good liar." His argument became more and more futile as Atobe's knowing smirk grew wider. Tezuka was starting to understand what a cornered rat felt like. It was by no means a pleasant feeling.

"I'm a better liar." Atobe sounded proud.

Tezuka simply looked at him. "That's not something to be proud of."

"I'm not proud of it," Atobe shrugged. "Just stating a fact." He stood up then and gave the other man a good hard stare. "Mull it over, Tezuka, and take the day off for tomorrow; think of it as a birthday present. Happy birthday."

-

Tezuka did end up mulling it over; he mulled it over so much that his head hurt as he climbed into bed that night. He mulled it over so much that every time he closed his eyes and tried to sleep he saw blue eyes.

Fuji couldn't have fallen in love with him. Impossible. Illogical.

It was impossible. Atobe had sounded so smug when he said it.

"_Just because, if you don't like him, you should tell him. I think he's fallen in love with you. You're a cruel man, Tezuka, and you know I respect that, but you don't want to just disappoint a boy like that."_

Tezuka couldn't have given him a straight answer even if his very life was dependent on it; love was such a complex emotion to bestow upon one human being. Love gave Tezuka Kunimitsu more than his fair share of headaches. So he liked to leave love well alone. Very much alone.

But the same could not be said for love. Love refused to leave Tezuka alone. No matter how hard he tried to keep the emotion at bay.

Tezuka's eyes found the luminous dials of his watch. It was inching on towards midnight. A few more minutes, and he would be a year older. He debated whether or not to get up and make coffee.

That debate was interrupted when his phone buzzed. Tezuka turned towards the flickering screen with bleary eyes, already knowing who it was going to be.

Still he held the phone in his hand and stared at the name that blazed back at him.

_Fuji Syusuke. _

A sweet boy with his white kimonos and blue eyes.

With his sweet tongue and light kisses. Even if it had only been one kiss.

Tezuka sighed, flipped the phone open and lay back down on the bed.

"Hello?"

There was a pause, then a timid voice: "Tezuka-sama...?"

"Yes, this is Tezuka." Tezuka made sure his voice was even, that it gave nothing away. "Hello, Fuji."

"Were you sleeping?"

"No."

"Oh, that's good." The boy sounded relieved. "I mean, it's not good that you're not getting enough sleep, but it's good that I didn't wake you, that's what I meant. You should sleep, you know, Tezuka-sama."

"I was about to go to sleep." That was only a half-lie.

Fuji's voice promptly deflated. "Oh."

Tezuka stared up at the ceiling. "...But...I'm glad you called me." He meant it.

There was a silence, a dark reverent silence. Tezuka closed his eyes and saw a beautiful smile. "Really?"

"Yes, really."

The smile grew. Tezuka felt his own face grow warm in the dark. He was glad it was dark.

There was another long silence before Fuji said, "I'm happy."

Tezuka was too, but for some reason he couldn't just blurt it out loud.

Fuji spared him. "Ne, Tezuka-sama, what's tomorrow?"

A smile almost touched his lips, but Tezuka willed it away. When he raised his wrist, the luminous dials of his watch read 12:12. "You mean today. It's after midnight."

It was a light laugh that reached his ears. "You do remember, then. I was afraid that you'd be one of those people who forgot their own birthdays."

"If Atobe hadn't reminded me, I suppose I would have become one of those people," Tezuka said.

There was a pause.

"Oh." Fuji's voice dropped a few notches. "Did he give you something nice?"

"He gave me a day off."

Fuji took a deep breath. "...Tezuka-sama, actually, if you come see me tomorrow, I'll give you something better than a day off...would you come see me, please?"

"I..." Tezuka trailed off. He suddenly remembered that being busy was not a viable excuse for tomorrow. "Aren't you angry at me?"

"No," Fuji laughed. "Do I sound angry?"

"No, but..."

"Or is it just a bad excuse not to see me?" Still, the voice was light and Fuji laughed again.

Tezuka sighed. "No, I'll come tomorrow." He lay on his side and breathed in the scent of freshly-laundered cotton. Tezuka vaguely wondered if Fuji's bed smelled the same. "What time are you available?"

"I'm..._available_ after four." Somehow, Fuji had managed to make the word sound mocking. "Shiraishi-sama booked me for the morning."

Shiraishi. It was the second time he had heard that name, and Tezuka wasn't pleased to hear it. Even if he did know the nature of Fuji's...work, if one could even call it work.

"Ah, I'll come after four then."

Fuji smiled, "See you then. I'm hanging up."

There was a soft click.

-

White light spilled through his curtains without permission and Tezuka kept his eyes closed.

After a moment or two, he opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling, vision hazy as always without the aid of his glasses.

He rubbed his eyes. What had Fuji said?

"_...Tezuka-sama, actually, if you come see me tomorrow, I'll give you something better than a day off...would you come see me, please?" _

Tezuka suddenly remembered he was a virgin. And before his nonexistent imagination ran too wild, he went to take a long cold shower.

-

Outside of the office, Yukari was no longer homely. His secretary, outside of the office, was actually quite an attractive girl. And the sad thing was, Tezuka had gone around with Atobe long enough to develop an eye for attractive women (unoriginal as his tastes may be.) The fact that he was willing to admit that within the deeply private recesses of his mind meant something.

Her shoes were designer heels and they looked hazardous. Tezuka wondered if Atobe bought them for her.

"How does it feel to be twenty-seven, Tezuka-san?" She asked him, with a small smile curling about her lips.

"Old," Tezuka admitted.

This made Yukari laugh, and Tezuka felt older. "It's all right - no matter how you look at it, you'll always be three days younger than Atobe-san. That should make you feel better."

"Well, I don't know if it does or not." Tezuka shrugged. "Would you like something to drink before we go?"

"No, I'm fine, Tezuka-san." She smiled at him, and her teeth glinted like her earrings, which also looked expensive. 'Expensive' brought Atobe to mind again. "Why did you call me? You weren't very specific about it over the phone." Which probably confused her because Tezuka was always specific.

Tezuka had thought about it beforehand. It was just unacceptable to say he was going to shop for a present for a...for paid company in a brothel. For Atobe maybe it was acceptable, but for Tezuka, definitely not.

"I have to go to my cousin's wedding anniversary at four o' clock. It's not good taste to show up with nothing, but I'm terrible at this type of thing," Tezuka said, turning away from her to walk into the kitchen. He poured himself coffee; it really was easier to lie to someone when he was not looking at them. "So I was wondering...if you could help me a little."

"Help you?" Yukari thought for a minute. "I suppose I could Although it _is_ your cousin, Tezuka-san. What does he like?"

"I was thinking of buying him a kimono. He collects them." He was really getting better at this lying business. Tezuka wondered if Fuji would be proud of him.

"Really? Well, kimonos aren't hard to pick out." Yukari smiled. "Come on."

-

Tezuka ended up buying more than he intended, partially because Yukari was a little too helpful for her own good, and that perhaps in his fervor to please someone for once, he went too far. The quest for one kimono became four kimonos; three of them were white, one of them in a blue that Tezuka knew matched Fuji's eyes.

In addition to that, there was an assorted collection of random jewelery that Yukari deemed proper for 'his cousin's wife', so that she wouldn't get jealous of his cousin. Tezuka briefly wondered what to do with all the jewelery. He couldn't remember if Fuji had pierced ears, and he didn't recall the boy wearing any jewelery the few times they did meet.

He insisted on buying Yukari burgers for lunch. If they didn't stop for lunch, he figured that she was young enough to go on shopping until four o' clock. She seemed rather surprised.

"I didn't think Tezuka-san liked burgers."

"Yes, well, I was young once a few hundred years ago," Tezuka said with a shrug. "I know it's hard to believe."

Yukari smiled. "I meant no offense, Tezuka-san. You should try to be young more often. It suits you."

With that, she picked up the tray with their burgers and drinks and headed towards the corner where there was a table open. Lugging more bags than he should, Tezuka followed. If this was what young people did nowadays, he'd rather stay old.

He sat down across from her, depositing the bags on the chair next to him. Yukari ate her burger like a lady should, dabbing at her mouth every five seconds.

There was a silence, then she said, "You must really like your cousin."

Tezuka promptly choked on his soda and that earned him a strange look. "...You think so?" He asked, his voice as even as he could manage it.

"Well, it's rare to see you go out on a limb for something other than business." She picked up a fry and squeezed out the excess oil on her napkin. "It's a nice change in Tezuka-san."

"Really?" He was still dumbfounded.

Yukari nodded. "Of course it is. Or did you secretly get a girlfriend without telling me? Are these presents for her instead?"

"I..." Tezuka paused perhaps a minute too long, and then he shook his head. "Of course not." His tone was neutral as he took a bite of his burger, since he was telling the truth, after all.


	11. Chapter XI

**A/N: **Hey, everyone! Long time no update! Hopefully you guys didn't miss me too much hehe. I just wanted to let you know that this story is not dead, I'm still working on it, but I just got writer's block few times. Thanks for all the reviews and support. Although this chapter is kind of transitional-ish, I hope you enjoy it anyway, it's fun.

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**XI**

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Tezuka learned what it was like to feel jealous. Jealousy was a lot like a incessant prickling of the skin that never stopped. He had paid and even greeted Ryuzaki in fairly good spirits. She was happy to see him too, it seemed because if a client came back twice, it was always a good thing. Particularly if the client was filthy rich and an acquaintance of Atobe Keigo.

"Fuji is finishing up with an appointment." She said, "So you might have to wait a little."

"That's no problem."

Ryuzaki studied him for a moment longer, and then nodded with a hint of a smile, "You can go on back if you want. Fuji's been asking for you."

Tezuka paused, his heart lifted in spite of himself. "He asked...for me?"

"Yes, quite diligently." The older woman took to studying her bright red nails as she spoke, "I'm glad you came back, Tezuka-sama, I never like to deal with Fuji when he is sulking." Then Ryuzaki noticed the many bags that he was carrying and smirked, "...Presents?"

Tezuka thought, and then shrugged, "Peace offerings. They're allowed, aren't they?"

Ryuzaki smiled, "Yes, of course, they're even encouraged, and for Fuji, you'll need plenty.

Tezuka almost found himself smiling back, but the idea of Fuji...diligently asking for him, and that look on Ryuzaki's face...he decided against it and excused himself.

-

The fact that Fuji was finishing up with a client pricked him a little, so Tezuka walked slow measured steps down the deserted hallway. He'd only been here once, but he knew where Fuji's room was, it was at the very end of the hall.

A man was coming out of it. A man with tousled hair and wrinkled clothes and a smile.

Tezuka paused and watched him. He realized that he was a jealous man.

-

The man disappeared down the hallway and Tezuka walked the remaining steps to Fuji's door.

The door opened, and Fuji stood there, with his calm, faint smile and tousled hair. "Hello, Tezuka-sama." He opened the door and Tezuka stepped in, setting his two bags on the floor. He felt awkward.

Fuji closed the door quietly behind him.

"You haven't been sleeping."

Tezuka slipped off his shoes and looked up into that inquisitive blue gaze. He wondered how Fuji knew these things. He shrugged, "Business is bad." He watched as Fuji twirled a strand of hair around his forefinger. "Could you comb your hair?"

The boy crossed over to his vanity table and returned with a comb, "That's not a reason. If you get sick, you'll waste even more money." The comb was pressed into Tezuka's hand, "Comb my hair for me."

It wasn't at all that simple, of course everyone wished it were that simple, but it wasn't. Tezuka felt the need to defend himself, only he didn't know how. All he could manage was, '...It's not that simple." And after studying the comb in his hand, he complied and gently worked the comb through Fuji's hair, slowly.

A sigh from the boy indicated that he was pleased. Tezuka wondered what the boy's hair would feel like to his fingers. The fact that he even wondered something so impossible frightened him.

Fuji spoke, rousing him from his thoughts.

"What did you do before you came to see me?"

Tezuka paused, "I went shopping with my secretary." It did not occur to him to lie.

"Saa...was she pretty?"

"...Sort of, it depends. Out of the office she is."

"Was she pretty today?" Fuji's voice had an edge to it, and Tezuka wondered if he was jealous. Why Fuji was jealous of someone like him...well, it was still a mystery.

"Yes she was, but I was shopping for you."

"Ah?" Fuji turned abruptly and peered at him inquisitively, after a moment, he smiled, "All right, you seem to be telling the truth, I believe you."

Tezuka looked at him, "...If you didn't believe me? What would happen?"

"I don't know." The smile seemed to grow, "I think I might do something drastic like strangle your secretary. But then, sneaking out of here would probably be a problem. I told you I was jealous."

"Did you?"

"Yes." Fuji stepped in and closed the distance between them, his arms went up and wrapped around Tezuka's neck and kissed him. It was not chaste, and after a moment or two, Tezuka woke up enough to kiss back.

They kissed for a long time, and when they finally stopped, Tezuka found himself splayed on the couch and Fuji was sprawled out on top of him. Tezuka took a deep breath and breathed in the boy's shampoo, it smelled expensive. Almost amusing, that such an adjective applied to smell.

After a while, Fuji buried his face in Tezuka's neck and laughed. Tezuka felt himself tense.

"...Fuji?"

"It's nothing, Tezuka-sama, I just...thought of something silly. That's all." And then Fuji sat up and smiled at him, cupped his face. "Can I open the present you bought me? It's rather strange, you know, to have you bring me presents while it's actually your birthday."

Tezuka watched as the boy stood and stretched, "It's fine...I might not be as wealthy as...some people, but I make do. And besides..." A very vague smile flitted across his lips before he realized, "It's nice to spoil someone, once in a while. And it's not like the 'presents' are wrapped. I bought them because I thought you might be angry."

Fuji paused, he wondered if Tezuka would be angry (ironically) if he ventured to say that Tezuka had a very nice smile and he wished he could see it more often. But he only shrugged, "So you thought you could bribe me?"

"...Something like that."

"Ah, then Tezuka-sama isn't as stupid as I thought." Fuji said approvingly with a nod.

Well, that certainly felt like a slap across the face. Tezuka said nothing as he watched the boy lug over the two bags he had set by the door next to his shoes. The boy plopped back down next to him and when he pulled out the first kimono, his eyes gleamed. Tezuka had to admit he was very pleased.

"Can I try it on?"

"Go ahead."

Fuji loosened the sash and let the fabric fall from his body and for a moment, all Tezuka saw was white perfect skin, he felt his face grow warm.

"Tezuka-sama is blushing."

That just made his face grow warmer. Tezuka looked down, determined to look everywhere but Fuji.

Fuji's hands were cold on his flushed skin. The boy was smiling, "I was actually going to save my present until later."

Tezuka once again found himself flat on the couch, except this time, the Fuji on top of him was not clothed, but half naked. That changed things...more than just slightly. He shifted, but Fuji's hands were stronger than they looked. Perhaps that, or he wasn't struggling very hard.

"...Fuji--"

"You're beautiful, Tezuka-sama."

The lips were kissing his face, kissing him all over, his eyelids, his forehead, his cheeks.

His vision was cloudy, perhaps he had been paying too much attention to how Fuji's kisses felt, to realize that the boy had plucked off his glasses and popped the buttons of his collar.

This...

This was giving Tezuka a very bad feeling. Somehow his hand had managed to clamp down on Fuji's wrist, by the looks of it, hard enough to hurt.

"Fuji...no." Even that didn't sound convincing to his own ears, but Tezuka knew he had to. "Please stop."

Fuji stopped, and as Tezuka still held his wrist, he could still feel the boy trembling. "...So...you _are_ angry at me, aren't you, Tezuka-sama?"

He released the other's wrist and shook his head, "Fuji, I never said that."

"But you're thinking that." Fuji's voice was unusually subdued, he lay down once again, his head on Tezuka's shoulder. "Tell me something, why do you come here to see me if you don't want to sleep with me?"

Tezuka was silent. He realized that he had been expecting the question for some time, so he had entertained some thought of it, but...

"I like you, and I enjoy your company." Tezuka spoke carefully, weighing each world in his head, "Can't that be enough?" He paused, and then he raised a hand to bury in Fuji's hair, it was every bit as soft and silky like he had imagined it to be.

"Is it enough?"

"For me."

Fuji stiffened, he felt something equivalent to ice replace the blood in his veins. "What if it's not enough for me?" He willed his voice not to shake, he concentrated on the warmth of Tezuka's hands, and kept his voice still.

Tezuka said, "What do you mean?"

"...I mean..." Fuji took a deep breath, "I mean..." And then he let out a sigh, "Never mind, forget I said anything. Would Tezuka-sama like dinner? It's getting to be kind of late."

-

Fuji, Tezuka decided, was very strange today, he didn't pride himself in knowing a lot about the other's line of work, but still...something told him that being locked up day after day had consequences. Something told him not to press the issue.

Dinner was rice, salad, miso, and fruit, fresh peaches, Tezuka inquired (gently) as to where he got them, but Fuji just smiled and said, "Somewhere."

Somehow, it felt less awkward this time around for Fuji to feed him everything—from spoonfuls of miso to slices of peaches, and after they had eaten and cleaned up, Fuji had led him, for the first time to his bedroom...to bed.

Tezuka didn't know how long they had lain there, probably a long time. And Fuji had weaseled into his arms without him knowing, Tezuka held the boy easily.

"Ne, Tezuka-sama, are you having a nice birthday?"

"Yes, I am."

"Ah, that's good then."

Another long long silence passed, and Fuji shifted before venturing another timid question.

"If I went far away, would you miss me?"

"Yes."

"How much?"

"Very much." The answered frightened Tezuka more than a little, because he realized that it was very true.

-

Tezuka woke the next morning to a strange ceiling looming overhead, and a pair of blue eyes intently watching him.

Panic was the first thing that came to mind, they were on a bed, after all. Fuji must have seen his stricken expression and he laughed, a strangled sort of laugh. "...Good morning, Tezuka-sama. Please don't look at me like that, nothing happened. We both have clothes on."

Tezuka turned his face away from the boy so Fuji wouldn't see the red tint in his cheeks. He was surprised he'd slept well, better than when he was at home...by himself.

"Tezuka-sama." Fuji touched the side of his face. "If I tell you something something that might...make you angry, will you promise not to be angry at me?"

Did he Tezuka really seem the type to fly off the handle whenever he felt like it? He sincerely hoped not, he turned his face towards Fuji again once he was sure that the blush was gone from his cheeks. "I like to think I'm not so temperamental. It's takes a lot to get me angry."

Fuji still looked unconvinced, but he took a deep breath.

"...I love Tezuka-sama. I want you...to make love to me once." After another deep breath Fuji continued, speaking faster now, "I'm in love with you, I can't stop thinking about you, Tezuka-sama. When you wouldn't answer my calls, I didn't know what to do. Please just..." The boy swallowed hard again, "I want to be Tezuka-sama's first. And..."

Tezuka listened to the tumbling confession, and when Fuji stopped, he opened his eyes.

"And?" He prompted.

"And this is the last day I get to be as I am. I won't be able to see you after this, Tezuka-sama. Starting tomorrow, I'm officially under contract, I won't be able to take clients anymore, I won't be able to see you again. Ever."

"You won't be able to..." Tezuka wasn't able to finish his echo, due to the sudden rush of panic into his veins.

"_Just because, if you don't like him you should tell him. I think he's fallen in love with you. You're a cruel man, Tezuka, and you know I respect that, but you don't want to just disappoint a boy like that." _

"_He's fallen in love with you, Lord knows how you did that. But I'm pretty sure you did it."_

It was times like this that Tezuka absolutely despised Atobe Keigo.

"Tezuka-sama." Fuji's voice cut into his thoughts again, "I am in love with you. Can't you _try_ to understand..." A note of desperation crept into the boy's voice, "Tezu--"

Tezuka put a finger to the boy's lips to silence him, he wished he could tell the boy that he wasn't in love. He wasn't, and Tezuka certainly hoped he wasn't because Tezuka didn't know how to deal with people that were in love with him.

But the fact that he was never going to see Fuji again, that the boy was _contracted _by someone else...like he was some sort of prize object up for auction..it wasn't as if Tezuka could just stand by and see this happen, but what could he do?

And then Fuji laughed, "I'm a silly child, aren't I? I actually hoped that Tezuka-sama would like a little useless whore like me. But I guess I was wrong, you deserve so much better than me, Tezuka-sama. That's all I am to you, you probably wouldn't even come back if Atobe-sama hadn't ordered you to."

"Leave Atobe out of this. He has nothing to do with this, Fuji." Tezuka said at last, "I came because I wanted to see you. "Like I said, I can like you and your company without sleeping with you. I may not love you like you love me, but you are very much a part of who I am now. Don't call yourself a whore."

Fuji lay down next to him and curled up like a cat, his whole body shaking. Tezuka's words weren't what he wanted to hear, exactly, but they warmed him.

"I wanted to make you love me, Tezuka-sama, but now there's no more time." He mumbled into the other's neck. "I wanted to wait until I was contracted by Tezuka-sama. But there's no more _time_...Tezuka-sama, this really hurts."

Tezuka could think of nothing to say, nothing to think. It was impossible to think when someone told you something like that.

Some time passed and then Fuji lifted up his face again, "Would you rescue me from my contract if I asked you to? I want a second chance to make you love me. Give me that chance."

He wished there was some way he could say no. No to this alluring boy who gave his body to many, but his one heart...to him. Tezuka realized he didn't know how. So he merely nodded, "All right."


	12. Chapter XII

**A/N: **Wow! It's been such a long time since I updated! As always, a huge thanks and lots of cookies go out for everyone who reviewed! Thanks for helping get past the 200 mark! I'm so, so so excited! Lost Fantasies is now on the Author Alert list of 88 people and I'm in shock (the best kind)! Thank you all! Enjoy this chapter, it kind of wraps up the first half of the story, and the second half is going to begin in Chapter13.

Enjoy the chapter!!

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**XII**

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Ryuzaki was pleased, but when she sat across the table, her expression was stern, heavily rouged lips set in a straight line. She knew she should be frowning, after all, a contract was called a _contract_ for a reason. But the fact that Fuji, one of the brothel's best had been promised to a little nobody, who couldn't even afford that much for a contract. She'd only gave it to him out of pity.

But now, to think that Fuji had broken through once again and snagged an acquaintance of Atobe Keigo's as his savior. How very like Fuji, Ryuzaki was secretly pleased, so much so that she felt giddy. Airy, like she had swallowed too much gin in one setting.

As for Tezuka, he had obviously no idea that she was pleased, in fact he thought otherwise, and wanted to disappear. He took comfort in Fuji rubbing his knee and concentrated on that, instead of the woman glaring at him from across the table.

"Fuji, you know breaking a contract is a very serious matter. You've already done it to me many times." Ryuzaki started, her voice stern.

But never with a client this filthy rich. Surely Fuji wouldn't just throw this Tezuka out like he did a host of others?

Her eyes searched his. And Fuji, now with his head nestled on Tezuka's shoulder, just grinned at her.

"I know." The boy said, "But I love Tezuka-sama."

Both Ryuzaki and Tezuka looked as if they were struck by lightning. The former, because it wasn't something Fuji said. Fuji despised love, didn't believe in it. The latter, because he still couldn't come to terms with how easily Fuji professed 'love' for him.

There was a stunned silence.

Then Ryuzaki recovered and said, "...I guess if you're that sure about it, I won't stop you. But I hope you did tell Tezuka-sama that our contracts are expensive."

With that, she gave Tezuka a pointed glance.

So it all came down to money. Of course it did. It was what Fuji did for a living, and money was what bought his emotions.

Tezuka took a deep breath, "Name a price." His voice betrayed him, shaking just a little. What had Fuji said? That Atobe had been trysting with a certain Echizen Ryoma for three years. Three years was a long time when it came to Atobe's loyalty.

And then when he looked into Ryuzaki's eyes and _knew_ why.

Even with Fuji's hand settled encouragingly on his knee. Tezuka still cringed when he wrote the check.

-

And his hand trembled, as he handed the check over.

"Nice doing business with you, Tezuka-sama."

Tezuka could have kicked himself right then and there if it was a physical possibility. But then he looked at the boy beside him...and melted all over again.

-

Back in Fuji's suite again, the boy just looked at him.

And then Fuji pressed close.

"Tezuka-sama..."

"Hm?" Fuji's warmth pressed against him was quickly becoming something familiar, something that was no longer threatening. His own arms came up to hold the other loosely to him.

"Thank you." And then Fuji was silent, content. "Would it be too out of line for me to want to give Tezuka-sama a kiss?"

One kiss. Tezuka considered. Without warning, his cheeks warmed and he nodded. "...Just one." Besides, it wasn't as if he and Fuji hadn't..kissed before.

"One." Fuji echoed dutifully and stood on tiptoe to press his lips to Tezuka's mouth. One kiss, like his client requested, sweet and chaste, nothing more.

Tezuka relaxed and let the boy bring him closer.

Then--

"Well, I can't say I didn't see that one coming."

As if the voice of the intruder was a poisoned dart, the two of them sprang apart and even Fuji looked disheveled.

Oshitari Yuushi leaned lazily against the door frame and gave them a catlike smirk. Like he knew everything...which in reality, wasn't all that far from the truth. He took in Fuji's pretty blush gaze, and his companion's flaming cheeks and laughed outright. "Honestly, if you want to partake in this kind of activity, the very least you could do is close the door, Fuji. Or are you really so shameless?"

"At least have the decency to knock." Fuji said petulantly, like a child would.

"I would have knocked if you'd even bother to close the door." Oshitari said.

"We weren't even...doing anything." What caused the boy to stutter so? Oshitari's gaze wondered to the man who was trying to disappear against the wall. Certainly not... "I mean...I was just giving Tezuka-sama a kiss." And the Fuji recovered. "What are you doing in my room, anyway?"

Tezuka-sama. Oshitari's eyes flickered again. So now he had a name. He crossed his arms, "I heard you signed a new contract. Is that true?"

Fuji didn't look at him, "About fifteen minutes ago, yes."

Oshitari's smirk grew wider, "You slut." But he said it laughing.

Still, Fuji looked up, horrified...looking so horribly pathetic that Oshitari almost wished that the words didn't leave his mouth. "Oshitari--"

But Tezuka—

Oshitari knew he was Tezuka, even though he had never laid eyes on the man. Fuji Syusuke's latest conquest, and quite an exquisite one at that, he had become a great legend as of late. Any acquaintance of Atobe Keigo quickly rose to the status of legend.

The legend had once been Sanada, Yukimura's lover. And now, it was Tezuka.

But Tezuka beat him to it, even if he was rather disarrayed at the moment, Oshitari still had enough sense to consider his presence somewhat threatening. If not physically, then almost certainly economically.

Tezuka said, his eyes and voice both icy cold. "Apologize."

Oshitari felt as if someone had socked him good and hard in his stomach with that single command. It took him a moment to realize that his mouth was hanging open like some idiot. He quickly closed his mouth.

He hadn't known anyone could administer a glare that could make him tremble like that.

"...Sorry." 'Sorry I called you a slut' didn't seem so appropriate.

Silence.

Then, Tezuka said, "Get out."

Oshitari was only too happy to obey.

-

"Fuji, look at me." There was a familiar warm hand against Fuji's cheek, which burned with the utmost humiliation. Once upon a time, he would have laughed, for the insults were true, and he had taught himself not to mind; he was even a little proud. But it seemed that Tezuka-sama turned everything upside down for him.

"I can't." He shook his head, "...Oshitari told me exactly what I am. He's always done that." Only this one time...it hurt so much. Fuji felt a large lump in the base of his throat. "Maybe...Tezuka-sama...I shouldn't have done it. I shouldn't have made you sign my contract with Sumire-sama. I can't...ask you to cater the rest of your life to a little sl--"

Tezuka's mouth was against Fuji's own. The kiss was warm and forgiving, and Fuji was still.

"You said you were in love with me." Tezuka said quietly when he pulled away. "I can't have a...slut in love with me. Fuji in love with me..that's enough" The sentence left his mouth with some difficulty. There were some words thrown in that weren't commonly used in Tezuka's vocabulary.

"But--"

Tezuka silenced him with another kiss, a kiss that made Fuji feel beautiful, and—though Tezuka claimed that he was not capable of love—loved.

-

The terms of the contract stated that Fuji would be under the jurisdiction of the brothel for three more days. There were many things to be done, and tons of paperwork to be filled out. Tezuka still couldn't help but feel as if he had purchased very expensive livestock instead of an actual person.

But the fact that a person had to be purchased was wrong altogether.

He was four months' salary short, and for the first time in a very long time, he thought he was financially threatened, although of course he wasn't. Tezuka Kunimitsu was unusually prudent with money. Fuji had failed to dent his accounts, like he had originally feared.

_Tezuka-sama, I love you. _The boy had become very fond of saying.

Turning the phrase over and over in his mind became a habit of sorts. It wasn't like Tezuka knew what that meant. And he had the feeling that staring at the darkened ceiling was not going to help things.

His cell phone beeped and he reached for it. Winced at the name.

_Atobe Keigo._

He flipped it open.

The voice at the other end sounded so smug. "So ore-sama will overlook the fact that you skipped a day's worth of work. On a few conditions, do you want to go drinking?"

Tezuka considered, getting him drunk again so that Atobe could revel in the details of the one-night stand that never happened. But then, he wondered...if it had happened, he wouldn't be in this mess.

But drinking didn't sound like a bad idea.

"I suppose." And besides, the question was phrased in such a manner that even Tezuka didn't dare refuse.

-

"Yukimura."

"It's my last night, and you still can't bring yourself to call me Seiichi?"

The two lay side by side on Yukimura's bed. Except for the sheets on the bed, the room was completely bare. Fuji reached out and curled a dark silken lock of Yukimura's hair around his finger. "I'm trying not to miss you too much."

"But you're going too, with your Tezuka-sama. I'm sure it won't be too bad."

His Tezuka-sama. That made Fuji blush in spite of himself. "He's not ...my Tezuka-sama."

Yukimura's eyes laughed at him, "Well, say whatever you like, he will be soon enough." And then Yukimura sighed, "...Are you nervous?"

"A little." Fuji agreed, "I...well, what if I can't make Tezuka-sama love me?" He had pondered the question endlessly, and each conclusion that he had drawn...was not satisfactory, at all.

"You will. And when the time comes, you will let him love you." Yukimura sounded calm about it, "And it won't be goodbye for us. I've given you my address and I expect you to come by often."

"I will." Fuji wanted to ask what that meant...letting Tezuka love him. But then, he realized that his asking would be in vain, so he kept it to himself. Yukimura never told him anything about love, except that one day he would be loved.

"And bring Tezuka-sama with you. He needs some air."

That made Fuji giggle, and for that one moment, he felt years younger. "All right."

Yukimura smiled and kissed him, a chaste brush to the lips. "Good. Now go to sleep. You don't want to wake up with circles under your eyes. It's unbecoming. Stay as beautiful and young for as long as you can. There's plenty of time to be old later."

-

In the morning, they had a send off for Yukimura, who looked like a pretty rose of a bride on Sanada-sama's arm.

Fuji smiled.

Two days from now, it would be him.

-

"I can't believe you got contracted before me." Ryoma pouted.

Fuji smiled indulgently, feeling wise and accomplished for nothing, "I _am_ older. There's plenty of time for you, if you ever get out of Atobe-sama's clutches. Which is something you should think seriously about, by the way."

The boy shot him a healthy glare, "I can't tell the difference between the two of you, sometimes." He was sprawled on his stomach, and hugging a pillow, making him look so mistakenly innocent. "Why do you hate him so much?"

"Saa..." Fuji shrugged. "I wonder."

"Fuji-_niisan_."

Fuji allowed himself a vague smirk, "You won't get it, even if I did tell you. But rest assured that I hate him."

"Is there a chance that you'll stop hating him?"

"...Why so charitable, Ryoma?"

Ryoma bit his lip, hard. "I hate it when he talks about you. He says how much he despises you, and he never thinks about me. All he can say to me, is how much he hates you."

"He does hate me." Fuji said. "It's not something you can change. It's not something he and I can do anything about. You won't get it, and I know that Atobe-sama would never forgive me if I told you. I hate him, but the Atobe-sama I hated was gone long ago. I don't wish him to suffer. So you have to stay by his side to keep him happy."

The boy still wouldn't look at him.

"Keigo said...Keigo said the two of you were in love once. Is that true?"

Fuji paused. He took a deep breath, "He told you that?"

"Is it true?" Ryoma asked again.

The next time he saw Atobe, Fuji vowed to give the man a good talking to. He smiled, and shook his head, "No, of course not. Atobe-sama and I grew up together, in growing up, we grew too much alike." He laughed, and his laugh was surprisingly bitter, even to his own ears. "Atobe-sama loves himself. No one else."

-

"You'll be kind to Shiraishi-sama after I leave, right?"

"He won't come find me. You're the only one he likes." Oshitari shrugged, 'Besides, I don't understand how Ryuzaki let you get contracted, I mean...after you leave, we have a lot of ground to make up for. Are you absolutely sure you won't consider?"

Fuji giggled and kissed the man's throat.

"Is that your way of telling me that you miss me?"

"No." Oshitari spoke quickly, too quickly.

Fuji just grinned at him, "Thanks, Yuushi. I'll miss you too."

Oshitari opened his mouth, and then closed it again. "Fuji."

"Mm?"

"Are you just going to go like this?"

"I learned something." Fuji sighed, he made himself comfortable in Oshitari's arms and didn't feel guilty. "I learned that loving someone who doesn't love you yet is a very dangerous thing. But of course I can't stop, and it's not something you can protect me from. I'm grateful to you, Oshitari, even though of course there are times I'd love to strangle you."

"You should stay. That way you won't be hurt."

"Tezuka-sama will never hurt me." Fuji smiled at him, "Don't worry so much. And we will see each other again, you can come visit when Tezuka-sama isn't home."

-

And then when Fuji left the brothel for the final time and walked with Tezuka to his car, he felt surprisingly empty, although he had Tezuka, who had quietly become everything and more. He wore regular clothes that Tezuka had bought him, and most of his kimonos were packed away in neat boxes that sat in Tezuka's trunk. Fuji hadn't worn a t-shirt and jeans since forever and it felt weird.

Tezuka's car smelled fresh of something lemony. They did not speak on the ride home, and Fuji was glad. It gave him time alone with his own thoughts and he wondered how Yukimura was doing.

He spoke when Tezuka parked the car, it was the first time that he would be stepping into Tezuka's apartment, and the thought made him anxious. "Tezuka-sama?"

"Yes?"

"This is where you live."

"Yes." Tezuka got out and opened the door for him, he offered his hand, which Fuji gladly took because it was familiar. This was probably how brides felt when they went home for the first time. Giddy, and nervous. He smiled at Tezuka, and Tezuka managed a twitch.

He followed the other man up the stairs, characteristic of Tezuka, he ignored the elevator. They climbed to the third floor and stopped at the second door on the right.

Fuji waited. He felt Tezuka let go of his hand, and press something cold and metal into his open palm.

"For you."

Fuji felt warm. He inserted the key in the the lock and turned the knob. The door opened. He turned his head just in time to catch Tezuka's very faint smile, but it was a smile nonetheless.

"Welcome home, Fuji."


	13. Chapter XIII

**A/N: **So after a million years of not updating, here I am with the much belated Chapter XIII. Honestly, for a while, I thought this story was going to be dead, because I seriously ran out of inspiration for it; although I did have it all planned out. xD. Thanks for all your support via reviews though, After a lot of false starts, I finally came up with something that is post-able. I hope you enjoy!!

First Update of 09!! WOOT!!

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**XIII**

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In the end, Tezuka supposed it resembled some kind of honeymoon, although the first days of having Fuji around all the time was trying, it wasn't unpleasant at all, but it was something new, and Tezuka Kunimitsu was a person that liked solitude, and having another person there---even if the person was Fuji...it was odd.

It wasn't like his flat was all that big to begin with because Tezuka, unlike Atobe, did not enjoy feeling lost in his own house, he liked everything close by, and with Fuji around all the time, everything seemed a little too close...though it wasn't because Tezuka disliked Fuji's company.

In fact, if he could ignore the fact that Fuji kicked things (mainly Tezuka) in his sleep, or that the other tended to be messy, his life was almost perfect. For the first time in a very long time, Tezuka felt sated and content, and for some reason, he had achieved such a state sans sex. (Although a certain boss of his would not have been too proud of him.)

Atobe Keigo put way too much belief in sex, and somehow, Tezuka despised him for it. There were plenty of other ways to find happiness, and he was not going to result to---that.

But still, even without that, it was nice. Fuji certainly hadn't mentioned sex ever since Tezuka's birthday, and Tezuka was grateful for it. He liked the way things were now, the way that Fuji's hair was mussed in the morning, and the way he greeted Tezuka with a kiss when he came home from work.

"Welcome home, Tezuka-sama."

Tezuka liked hearing that most of all, after all, a home was not a home if you didn't have anyone else to share it with. He also liked the part where Fuji took his briefcase and placed it in the closet for him, and took off his coat for him—although he was used to doing all those things himself.

He had mentioned that Fuji spoiled him once, to which the boy merely replied with a smile, "Because I think Tezuka-sama has never been spoiled."

"Yes, but doesn't mean you have to spoil me." Tezuka had argued.

"But I like it." Fuji had pecked him on the cheek and headed off to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Besides Tezuka's bedroom, which housed a bad entirely too large for only one person, he liked Tezuka's kitchen, which he had complained about, that it didn't get used near often enough.

Well, it wasn't like it was really his fault. Tezuka usually got home late, and usually grabbed something at some random convenience store to say himself the time.

But ever since Fuji had moved in with him, Tezuka had been making it home earlier and earlier, although he drew the line at eight, lest people asked too many questions, after all, it wasn't like him at all to have emergencies all the time.

For the life of him, Tezuka couldn't figure out if it was something that Atobe did intentionally, but his superior hadn't yet to question his somewhat lax work ethic as of late, and the two of them hadn't talked since the day that Atobe preened into Tezuka's office and told him that Fuji was in love with him.

"Tezuka-sama looks like he's thinking very hard."

Tezuka turned briefly to see Fuji drop down on the couch next to him. Shaking his thoughts from his head, he shrugged, as Fuji made to lean his head on his shoulder.

"Sort of."

"I'm sorry that dinner's not ready yet. I was too busy thinking about some things." Fuji admitted, settling his hand on Tezuka's knee.

Tezuka had stepped in the door at seven-forty-five, and Fuji had stood there in one of his fresh white kimonos and an endearing smile. Tezuka was too busy noticing that there was no fragrance coming from the kitchen. Fuji had a natural knack for cooking, and even though he liked to add more spices than was good for him, Tezuka found it bearable.

"It's fine, I hadn't noticed."

Fuji smiled at him, "Because you were dazzled by me?" he supplied helpfully.

Tezuka gave him a tolerant look, "Something like that."

Fuji took the look as an invitation to climb into his lap. But he did it carefully, because he knew how Tezuka disliked having wrinkles in his dress shirts—although that was all Tezuka seemed to possess in his wardrobe. Tezuka held him easily...and it did occur to him that even though Fuji hadn't mentioned sex again, he was always getting more bold--

--and the strange thing was that Tezuka didn't mind so much. Whether or not that turned out to be a bad thing remained to be seen. Fuji just sighed a contented sigh in reply and smiled at him again.

"I'm making curry." He announced after a moment, "From the new cookbook you gave me. What do you think?"

Ever since Tezuka had discovered Fuji's liking and talent for cooking, he had been bringing various cookbooks every day, it was not to say Fuji succeeded in his doings every time, but still, the boy tried.

"It's been a long time since I had curry." Tezuka closed his eyes briefly, as Fuji's hands found a tender spot along the back of his neck.

"Just for you I didn't make it too spicy." Fuji sounded wholly amused as he pressed his fingers in. Out of sheer habit, Tezuka bit his tongue. He was suddenly reminded of a very unpleasant time when Atobe had dragged both him and Sanada out to a bar after finals. And then the rest of the night had been a blur of too much alcohol and lots of women, he vaguely remembered having a couple on his lap and then throwing up afterwards.

Atobe hadn't been too happy about that. Apparently, he had ruined a couple of expensive dresses.

A sudden jolt of pain shot from his neck and Tezuka's eyes shot open to see Fuji's apologetic face.

"...Did that hurt?"

Tezuka was conflicted, but he was sure Fuji would catch him if he lied anyway, "Just a little."

"Sorry." Fuji shifted, and Tezuka was suddenly very focused on the way that the boy shifted in his lap. "But you could help me out by relaxing a little. Here, lean forward."

He obeyed, leaning forward just so, that his head fell snugly on Fuji's shoulder.

"Better?"

It was. Tezuka just rubbed the crook of Fuji's neck with his forehead. "Hnmph." Hoping it sounded noncommittal.

But he heard a smile in Fuji's voice anyway. "Good."

--

Later, Tezuka sat in bed reading a newspaper while Fuji worked a fine tooth comb through his hair. Although Fuji knew there would be no tangles in it whatsoever; he was not a very neat person by nature, but at least he kept up appearances.

"Ne, Tezuka-sama, do you work tomorrow? It's Saturday."

Fuji loved that about Tezuka, whenever the older man looked at him, it was like Tezuka saw nothing else. His expression was ever bland, but Fuji had found, that by looking very hard, he could always find a smile tucked in his eyes somewhere. Tezuka folded the newspaper neatly in half as he shook his head, "No, unless Atobe's up to one of his usual tricks."

Atobe. Fuji made a face, he didn't like that Atobe, of all people, took up so much of Tezuka's time, almost twelve hours a day, from seven in the morning to eight at night...but seeing as how Atobe was Tezuka's boss, just like he had been under Sumire's jurisdiction...it couldn't be helped.

"Why do you ask?"

"What? Oh...I um..." Fuji laid the comb down and climbed into bed, close to Tezuka, but not close enough to touch. He had learned that when they shared the same bed, Tezuka didn't really like being touched that much...

yet.

"I wanted to visit a friend."

"A friend?"

Fuji could have taken it the wrong way, he knew, that Tezuka hadn't thought him to have any friends, really, given the type of occupation he kept, but he knew Tezuka wasn't like that. So he just shrugged, "He left the brothel the same time I did, actually...two days before I did."

Tezuka asked, "Did Atobe--" he hesitated, "--buy him?"

Fuji laughed. He buried his head in Tezuka's shoulder and laughed. It was just funny. The thought that Atobe Keigo would actually consent to spend twenty-four-seven with a brat like Echizen Ryoma. But then again, Atobe wasn't like most people, he viewed too many things as good fun.

And even to Fuji, being with that many people, at the same time, was not good fun. He only did it because he had to.

"No, of course not. Atobe can't stand Ryoma. I don't know how they manage, honestly. His name is Yukimura Seiichi."

"Does he live nearby?"

"Well..." Fuji paused, "Sort of. He lives in Chiba. His _danna_ bought him a house."

"I'll take you there tomorrow afternoon." Tezuka said, setting the newspaper aside, "Would you mind?"

"No." Fuji settled in the covers and lay on his side, "But why the afternoon?" Tezuka was the type of person to get everything done early. The fact that he wanted to do something in the afternoon seemed rather odd to Fuji. "Are you busy?"

"No. I feel like sleeping in." Fuji looked up to see Tezuka's face inches away. The kiss was brief, but the fact that Tezuka had initiated it made him feel giddy. "And you'll sleep in with me, don't get up to make breakfast tomorrow."

--

Fuji dressed in regular clothing, jeans and a t-shirt for the occasion, Tezuka wore his customary dress shirt, although instead of formal suit pants he wore khakis. Fuji had not seen Yukimura in a little more than over three weeks, but he found that he missed him. Yukimura had called him once on his cell phone, but the call itself had been short.

Within the span of maybe five minutes, Yukimura had told Fuji about his new house in Chiba, he lived there alone, but Sanada-sama evidently came to visit him maybe three times a week, and he had a dog for company. Her name was Anne, after a princess who had been hung in one of Yukimura's books. Sanada also brought him lots of stuff to read.

"_My days aren't boring._" Yukimura had said when Fuji was about to hang up,_ "And sometimes, Genichirou brings Shin-chin with him, but I do miss you_." Shin-chan was Sanada's five-year-old son.

So why, was Fuji feeling a little bit anxious about seeing Yukimura again?

As soon as they rolled up in front of the correct house, Tezuka looked at him and touched his arm, "Fuji?"

"I"m fine." Fuji glanced towards the house, "It's just...strange, seeing him here. You're coming with me, right?"

"Did you not want me to?"

"Of course not. I just thought..." Fuji hesitated, "That you wouldn't want to meet Yukimura." After all, even if Tezuka was here, with him now, there was still no changing what Tezuka really thought about professional escorts, and Fuji was careful not to irritate the matter any more than he had to. He hadn't called anyone from the brothel, and no clients called him.

Sumire did call to check up on him once.

"He's your friend, isn't he? This Yukimura."

"Of course."

"Then I don't mind meeting him." Tezuka said resolutely and got out of the car. Fuji loved him more than ever.

--

It was a clean-smelling Yukimura Seiichi who wore the brightest smile that Fuji had ever seen, that met him at the door. He was actually a year and a half older than Tezuka, but Fuji thought that his friend looked as young as he'd ever seen him. Happiness took years off of you, even if your eyes tended to be sad. He let Yukimura pull him into a tight hug and let the other kiss his forehead—although Fuji could have sworn that he saw Tezuka twitch out of the corner of his eye.

"Syusuke, it's wonderful to see you, you look well."

And Fuji suddenly felt shy. He retreated to Tezuka's side and took his arm. "...Well, Tezuka-sama has been taking good care of me."

"I can tell." Yukimura assured him, and smiled at Tezuka, "You must be the Tezuka-sama that Syusuke never shuts up about." But his tone was a cheerful one, "Thank you for putting up with him."

Tezuka shifted around awkwardly for a few moments before he regained his senses and twitched his mouth in an effort to smile, he didn't quite manage it, but he said, "Somehow, I think it should be the other way around."

That earned Tezuka an amused smile from Yukimura and he opened the door wider, "Please, come in. Have the two of you eaten?"

"No,' But Fuji was quick to add, "But we wouldn't want to be any trouble."

"It's no trouble." Yukimura reassured him, "And besides, Genichirou said he might stop by today with Shin-chan. I rarely have so much company, you know." And Yukimura Seiichi missed playing host, Fuji knew that. "You can help me in the kitchen, it'd let us catch up. Cherie's asleep, so I don't have to worry about her right now."

"You don't mind if I steal him, do you, Tezuka-sama?"

Tezuka blinked, "Ah, no. Go ahead."

--

With Yukimura's permission, Tezuka settled himself on a leather couch. Yukimura Seiichi seemed like a nice enough person, but something in Tezuka couldn't quite come to terms with what these people did for a living. It just seemed off.

His eyes fell on a vase of gardenias on the coffee table. Yukimura's furniture was bland, but expensive and tasteful. It certainly reminded him of Sanada, who had the money, but unlike Atobe, never saw the need to flaunt it.

He closed his eyes and listened to the mild clatter in the kitchen. There were books on the table too, and Tezuka picked up a book on Paris, it was a travel guidebook of sorts. Half of it was in French, and Tezuka was surprised that Yukimura was so well read. Personally, Tezuka didn't find guidebooks too interesting, but Sanada did, and Atobe never let him hear the end of it.

The doorbell rang.

He looked towards it, and paused, and then Yukimura said, "...Syusuke, could you get the door, please? It must be Genichirou, he did tell me he was going to drop by today."

"Oh, okay. Is he bringing Shin-chan?" Fuji appeared in the kitchen doorway and made his way towards the door.

"I'm not sure, maybe."

Tezuka hadn't been sure when he heard it the first time, after all Genichirou was a common enough name, and so was Shin. Shin-chan was a common nickname, but the guidebook and the bland furniture filled in the blanks for him.

Genichirou was _Sanada Genichirou._ Although Tezuka never really thought of him as Genichirou, so maybe that was why it failed to register? But the bad feeling was just starting to sink in as Fuji opened the door, a small boy jumped into his arms and Tezuka jumped five feet himself.

He knew the boy. Sanada Shin, Sanada's only child. Tezuka felt a little sick.

"Hii, Fuji-niisan!!" And then Shin turned and smiled a sloppy smile. "Hii, Tezuka-san!!"

Which made Fuji turn to him, perplexed. "You know Shin-chan?"

"Well..." Suddenly Tezuka wanted to disappear. What were the chances that he'd just randomly run into Sanada Genichirou—here?

But Fuji had turned from him to greet someone else, a person that Tezuka didn't mind around the office, but here in a private setting...

"Shin, you've got to stop jumping on people." said Sanada Genichirou. After giving his son a stern look, he retrieved him from Fuji. "I didn't think you'd be here, Fuji."

"He didn't jump me." Fuji smiled at him, while Tezuka just stared, "Shin is just a friendly little guy. I didn't expect to be here either, but Tezuka-sama was kind enough to drive me." He smiled at Tezuka, who still looked traumatized.

Sanada stared.

"Tezuka?"

Tezuka didn't think there could be a more awkward moment. He and Sanada stared one long store, with Fuji looking very confused and Shin looking happy, because he was a child that didn't know any better.

Yukimura must have noticed the silence, because he peeked his head out and sighed. Although he still wore a smile, and still, in front of everyone, gave Sanada a chaste kiss on the lips. "Genichirou, It's good to see you, Shin-chan too." He said, in a tone that was altogether too familiar for Tezuka to process. He could scarcely believe it for himself but, here he was, under one roof with Sanada Genichirou, one of the most straight-laced guy he knew...with his mistress, Tezuka wasn't quite sure what the proper equivalent would be.

"Seiichi. What are they doing here?"

"They had time, so they dropped by." And because Yukimura was a seasoned host, he took one look at his _danna'_s face, and then he looked at Tezuka. And Fuji. And then he shook his head.

"I get the feeling that this is Atobe-sama's fault again." But despite everything, he still looked amused as he took Sanada's free arm, the one that wasn't supporting his son, Shin was giggling, as if this was one of the funniest things he'd ever seen."

And it was, quite possibly.

Atobe's fault. That was quite possible too, because Atobe's penchant for playing tricks usually got to him. But to this....

Fuji came to nuzzle his shoulder, and his smile was a wholly amused one.

"Somehow it doesn't surprise me at all. Sounds like something Atobe would do. But I'm sure we can still enjoy lunch. I think Yukimura's a better cook than I am, come on."


End file.
